"We, Rainbow Refugee clients, are super active activists, and that's why we were able to come and stay here!"

Do you remember the Jutish people in North America were refugees?

We came from all over the world - from Africa, Asia, South America, etc. We arrived here on our own for survival.

For example, we're surprised by how many languages we speak if we're not proficient in English. I speak Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean without English, although my abilities are not 100% due to dyslexia, but it's a small number for us.

We can't say or express that we don't have money because we are visitors here and need proof to obtain a visa. In fact, we are spending money for our survival here.

I need dance and have some dance classes because that's my best self-care and much cheaper and more effective for me than RMT, counseling, or harm reduction.

I'm banned from getting tattoos in Japan, so I need my tribe tattoo. I've never dyed my hair because of my survival, so I love to color my hair. I love and support our local tattoo artists and hairdressers, and they always do the same for me too!

We can't wear bad clothes because if I look homeless, we experience more hate incidents and microaggressions every day on the streets too. We support each other on the street as well, though.

We are admirable because we could upgrade and uplift people in tough situations in Canada too.

So please don’t treat us poorly or look down.