The national holiday on June 24 is an opportunity for members of many communities from diverse backgrounds to emphasize their belonging to Québec, whether they have been established there for a long time or have recently arrived.
The Malagasy will kill two birds with one stone on Saturday: they will not only celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, but also the independence of Madagascar, the official date of which is June 26. The collective Mpiray dia eto Quebec, or Solidarity Alliance in Quebec, organizes the annual gathering, which is being held for the second time. “The province is our land of welcome, it is therefore our second homeland,” explains President Ranjarivelo Vololonirina.
The approximately 1,200 members of the Malagasy community and the organization’s hundred or so volunteers identify more with Quebec than with Canada, says the president. “When we go to sing a hymn, it’s People of the country we put on, she illustrates. We are more used to celebrating Saint-Jean, less the feast of the 1er July. French is also one of the two official languages of Madagascar, along with Malagasy.
The event, celebrated in Montreal, is an opportunity for migrants scattered throughout the province to meet up with compatriots. More and more of them are coming as temporary migrant workers. Exploitation and abuse are not without populating their experience, hence the presence of the Network for Migrant Agricultural Workers in Quebec. “There was a lot of sexual violence, suffering, injustice and misunderstanding,” says Ms.me Vololonirina.
A message of vigilance, therefore, in the face of the excesses that await the migrant worker, but the time will always be to celebrate. The music of the red island will accompany a fashion show, and the evening will conclude with karaoke and a DJ performance. The celebration is part of the organization’s primary mission: to help Malagasy citizens integrate into Quebec.
And the language?
The Multicultural Diversity Project will also highlight the national holiday and the diversity of the cultural origins of Montreal and Quebec. “We want to demonstrate that we are Quebecers, who want to be recognized as such in their own right,” says the president of the organization, Kidel Reid. Diversity and inclusion means that we are united, all together. »
The event is designed to welcome “everyone”, including families and their children. Reggae, rap, Latin music and kompa: so many musical genres present at the Jardins Gamelin to illustrate this diversity.
Mr. Reid expresses a deep love for the province where he was born and raised: “I don’t like the talk that Quebec is a racist place where I don’t belong. I had the opportunity to leave, but I stayed there, and I am raising my two children there. »
The four-year-old organization fights poverty and the lack of access to sports and educational services in Mr. Reid’s native neighborhood, La Petite-Bourgogne. Its website is entirely in English, a deliberate choice, explains the president. “We mainly target the English-speaking black population of Montreal with our services. English is required to join. »
He adds that it is not to circumvent French: everyone who lives and works in the province understands that the language of Molière is a necessity, according to him. “When French-speaking people request our services, we make sure to provide the necessary translation. »
The “Saint-Jean du hood”
The community organization and activist Hoodstock, active in Montreal North, is organizing its annual Saint-Jean parade in the neighborhood on Saturday.
The event appeared in the context of a pandemic. The organization then wanted to break the isolation associated with confinement, and distributed health protection equipment, in a heavily hit district.
Since then, the health crisis has been a distant memory. But we continue to distribute food there. The event has become a flagship celebration, “Saint-Jean du hood “.
In particular, young local artists are presented, some of whom are having their first experience on stage. “These are local talents that we want to put forward in their own community,” says administrator Nargess Mustapha.
“It’s a celebration under the banner of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, but which takes place within the confines of Montreal-North,” she concludes. It is an area of great heterogeneity, which shows that Quebec’s identity is hybrid. »