An increasingly multicultural city, Fredericton is home to thousands of immigrants.

Some came as refugees. Gopi Adhikari is an 18 year old refugee from Bhutan, but he never saw his home country.

“I don’t actually know about Bhutan. I was born in a refugee camp but I know from my parents [that] the king of Bhutan, there’s a monarchical system; the king of Bhutan, he wants to make the country one nation, one people. And there are different types of people in Bhutan, like Dzongkha people and the Nepalese people. He wants to make the country for Dzongkha people only,” Gopi said.

Many atrocities happened as the Nepalese were forced out of the country.

“The army, they used to rape the women. They used to put the people in the sack of the leather, they used to put in the river, and they used to wrap the people. And they are forced to flee the country,”he added.

Gopi now lives with his aunt and cousins, while his mother lives in Quebec.

His father and brother died in a motorcycle accident back in Nepal.

Gopi says life in Fredericton is easy and comfortable.

“I also used to feel lots of frustration, depressed when I was in Nepal because the life is uncertain. There is no any certainty of future. But when I came here, I found more different. There are lots of opportunity,” said Gopi.

Canada is not where he first encountered English. He had studied in English at the refugee camp, but he says he still had to work hard to better speak and understand the language.

“I used to engage with local people. I think it helps me to speak and make my language good. Like, I can understand English easily. And I also used to participate in different trainings and other stuff that help me to over-develop my skills and other stuff,” Gopi said.

Some of the training programs and activities are offered by Fredericton’s Multicultural Association, where Saa Andrew Gbongor works as a Youth Facilitator. Saa is a refugee from Sierra Leone himself.

Now he helps youth like Gopi develop their skills through art and other activities.

“Cuz it’s like I give you give it to me, I give it to you back. Because at the end of the day, we are helping to promote the community, to build a stronger diverse community, rich in culture. And I use my artistic skills, my activism skills,” Saa said.

Saa has lived in Fredericton for 10 years, and graduated from University here.

He is pursuing his music career and has performed with artists like Emmanuel Jal. He says his university has taught him a lot.

“I had a good life at STU, it makes me…it makes my eye open by facing challenges, by facing ways how to solve those challenges.”

Saa says, the Multicultural Association also helped him and his family settle in Canada.

“It create a very big part in making me start in Canada. Not me myself, my family, and a lot of other immigrants that come here because they organize all that stuff. They’re like the people who actually make sure you know where you are,” he said.

Saa and his family fled Sierra Leone because of a civil war caused by Blood Diamonds. They lived in a refugee camp in Gambia for a few years. He said life there was difficult.

“It wasn’t easy to be as a refugee. The kind of food we eat; the place we sleep. And I don’t think I’d like to go back to that kind of way. I don’t think any person who lived the life of a refugee would like to go back again to that kind of situation,” he explained.

Now, Saa is working with organizations such as War Child Canada and the Multicultural Association of Fredericton to promote youth and human rights.

“It’s because of war that I’m a refugee. So I want to see because I had the chance to escape and be here in this fancy world, I want to see what I can do with my talents to help back, pay. I just want to see other people rise and shine. It doesn’t matter where you come from, doesn’t matter your religion, doesn’t matter whether you put on veil on your head, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re a person, and you deserve to live and be who you are,” Saa said.

The life of a refugee is not easy. Learning a new language and coping with a new culture is difficult. And the refugee status stays in the background no matter where they go.

“You have to move yourself away from that stigma that you’re a refugee. Yes, I know I’m always a refugee. Even though I become a Canadian citizen, I still know I’m a refugee, I still know I’m not from here, I still know I’m from Sierra Leone. But I still know that I have to make my life to a success, and I still know I want to fight for the rights of other people,” Saa said.

But as Fredericton has shown, a strong community can help anyone grow.

Spring started fast but lacked staying power this year, shortening the maple season by up to a few weeks.

The yearly harvest depends entirely on the weather to produce the sap needed to boil in to the approximately 1.8 million kilograms of maple syrup made in New Brunswick every year.

CLIP: I was worried that might be the end all together. I didn’t know if it was going to come back. A lot of producers thought it might shut the production right down and put an end to the season right then. It would have been devastating.

As long as it’s warm during the day and cold at night, the sap flows through the spouts into tubes and buckets.
During the warm spell it got so hot that the sap stopped flowing completely.
As the weather warms up the micro-organisms in the sap begin to reproduce changing the color and the taste.
Although he was able to salvage most of his season, warming temperatures have Briggs worried about the industry’s future.

CLIP: A lot of research has been done about global warming and climate change. It may affect the areas more south of here. … So maybe the next generation might see a huge impact.

About 85% of the world’s maple syrup is produced in Canada, and changes in the industry would especially impact New Brunswick and Quebec. For STU Journalism, I’m Meredith Gillis.

The world of soccer is ever evolving in North America with the growth of Major League Soccer. But, despite the efforts to increase skills, the level of competition is still away behind the long established European Leagues. But why is that and what can be done about it in Canada? Matt Tidcombe has been kicking those questions around and has some answers in this feature report.

The beautiful game. The world’s most popular sport. But why is North America so far behind the rest of the world? Nearly three hundred and forty-five million people live on the continent. That enough should allow the game to expand.

In Canada alone, there are 32 million people. Martin Hardy, a Canadian who’s been playing soccer for well over 20 years. He says there aren’t enough place to learn how to play in Canada “But I think if they acted as if they were more serious about soccer, like I said, it’s developed over a provincial program things like that, I just don’t think we have the structures in place and obviously they’re more serious about it, like the Manchester United’s. it’s not just about the big club, it’s trickles all the way down to schools and stuff like that so, we just don’t have that. I think if there was a place where people could feel like they were serious and there was a next step , I think we would probably take a big step forward. There are more than one hundred soccer academies in England alone. They are run by Premier League and Football League teams to promote their youth systems. 33 year old Otto Morales from Guatemala says the root of the problem lies in the starting age of players in Canada.

“It’s kind of hard for the younger kids to actually have the potential and to actually be brought up and actually learn the game from the youth level, bringing up to the under 14 and under 16 and so on to get up there and compete for the under 18 and under 20 world cups. We need to get the six, seven year olds up to speed already and at training camps where we have everybody going from the Maritimes goes to Halifax for the national training camp, but it’s not enough, we need more. Major League Soccer acts as North America’s top league. It’s comprised of nineteen teams all battling to become MLS Champions. The league features three Canadian teams. Toronto FC who were inducted in 2007. The Vancouver Whitecaps joined the league in 2011. Finally, Montreal Impact joined the league this season. The defending champions of the league are the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, stadium regulations limit the number of fans at games. One example is during week nights in LA. Only seventy five hundred fans are allowed to watch the game. This is because local residents complain about the noise levels. With restrictions such as these, it struggles to develop the interest in the game.

However, it doesn’t seem to bother the noisy fans. With restrictions like that, it’s a struggle to develop interest in the sport. “But how can soccer in Fredericton continue to improve when snow takes away outside soccer? Indoor leagues have been established but it compromises the eleven a side mentality that is created throughout the world when Fredericton loses five months a year because of snow.” But Morales says snow is no excuse for Canada to be lagging behind the rest of the world.

He points out that Russia is a very successful soccer country who deals with snow on a regular basis. “Snow is not a problem…I mean look at Russia. They probably get as much snow as we do and they’re still competing in the world cups and can go out and compete with good clubs. Hardy also echoes Morales sentiments, saying the indoor leagues in Fredericton are greatly contributing to the improved play in the city. I think not just in Fredericton but in Canada, I think we’ve grown, like you said with MLS, and I think, I mean I can only speak for Fredericton but within Fredericton I’ve seen it grow in ten years, so I think another ten years , can you imagine where it would be? It just keeps growing for people who are interested so, I mean, I think we’re going to be on course for the same thing for another five, ten years and then we’re start to really see it develop. So I think we’re on the right track. I’m not quite sure what the next step is, but we’re on the right track for sure. According to Fredericton’s city website, there are thirteen soccer only locations. And seven other fields classified as multi- use, but can sustain soccer, such as the BMO Centre. But because of snow many indoor leagues have been established.

One of the indoor leagues in Fredericton is the Fredericton Senior Soccer League. The league has eight teams, each with thirteen to sixteen players a side. At the Nasis Fieldhouse, seven outfield players are allowed on the pitch, with one goalie too. The league features players from many different countries, such as Ecuador, Italy, Spain and Portugal among others. One player is Enrico Tatti. He’s from Florence, Italy and is in Fredericton doing his post PHD in soil micro biology. He says there are many misconceptions in Europe about North American soccer. He

admits he had some himself when he came to Canada. “Well, I think we picture, well before coming here I pictured, I was thinking like my friends that Canadian soccer was kind of very bad, o not very like developed. Since coming to Canada, Tatti admits soccer is growing and getting better in North America and he thinks it will continue to improve. “As soon as I came here I saw many different, many different soccer fields, young kids playing and everybody trying to play. The level is pretty good so I would say it is just a matter of time for them. They probably just need a good league to attract people , that’s it.

While Enrico enjoys the guys he plays with he says that the more soccer that can be played, the better it will for them and the game in the long run. For STU Journalism, I’m Matt Tidcombe.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Yes, I’m here on the Dial a bus. It’s a service the city provides to people with mobility disabilities, so they can get around Fredericton. However many users believe the two buses the city runs isn’t enough to meet the demand,”

Dial a Bus runs six days a week in the city picking up its users right at their home and taking them to their destination. However because of the demand users are sometimes expected to book more than a week in advance to get a pick-up time.

This has caused users like Zack Paul to stop using the service because of the inconvenience.

“My experience with that is you have to book three to four days in advance, sometimes three weeks. There’s no spontaneity with that, I mean what if you’re hurt and you need to go somewhere and it’s not there to help,”

Doug Bridgeman who’s a Quadriplegic is the President of Easter Seals New Brunswick. They help Fredericton City transit’s Dial a Bus by taking care of who’s approved to use the service and who’s not.

Bridgeman agrees with Paul and says the city needs to address the demand by putting another bus on the road.

“It’s not a very resourceful service for people who like to get up and go. If they want to go to a restaurant or want to join their families on vacation,”

Bridgeman says having no access to the bus can lead some mobility disabled people to become shut-in and disconnected.

Councillor Bruce Grandy with the City of Fredericton is the transportation committee chair and directly deals with the Dial a Bus service. He says the service has a lot of delays and a lot of problems because the demand is not being filled.

“We been working on one of the options on the private industry side, which is where I want to see it go, for a number of reasons specifically were trying to balance the cost of transit,”

With most transit services in Canada not turning a profit, the City of Fredericton isn’t looking to provide a third Dial a Bus right away. For Stu Journalism, I’m Justin Marshall.

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Music is a way to celebrate, mourn, and give thanks in Kaminyola, a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that borders Rwanda.

Today, these women sing songs of celebration and of unity—but they don’t forget about the shadows of the past.

They know all too well the horrors of conflict.

Jeane remembers the day her neighbour was killed.

“What happened a group of soldiers entered her house and violated her. Although she said, ‘I am so sorry I beg you please, I’ll give you money,’ they said, ‘no we don’t even need your money, we need your life,’ and they killed her right away.”

Despite the deaths, community members are finding glimmers of hope and gaining the courage to move forward from their dark pasts.

Agriculture is one source of hope.

Women in Kaminyola have started farming projects to generate sustainable incomes for their families, to create fair markets and to bring husbands and wives together to end domestic violence.

The changes in men’s attitudes towards women are evident.

“There is transformation within men in our community due to the training that we’ve been receiving from Wakki because we come and get the training alongside our husbands and that training is very helpful because they are also getting what we are being trained on and that is impacting their attitude and they are changing.”

Kaminyola is just one of the hundreds of communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that’s seen violence and hardship over the last few decades.

Since the mid nineteen hundreds several major conflicts have resulted in havoc in the Congo.

The conflicts stem from many factors: colonial rule, dictatorship, wars in neighbouring countries, such as Rwanda and Uganda. To add to the mess, nine countries have a military presence in the Congo and at least that many rebel groups are also in the country.

Joseph Kabila has been the president since 2001. He was re-elected for another term in 2011. He has been widely criticized corruption and not intervening in the conflict.

The Congo is one of the most resource rich countries in the world. The fight for natural resources has fueled much of the ongoing conflict.

“One of the main reasons why we have conflict in the Congo is because of the natural resources that are in the Congo so this potential of wealth in the Congo are being a source of problems because anyone in the neighbouring countries can come and exploit, not even legally exploiting, but illicitly exploiting the resources of Congo and in so doing they create a situation of insecurity.”

The storm of violence has resulted in much loss in the Congo.

Since 1998, more than more than five and a half million Congolese have died as the direct and indirect result of the conflict.

And millions more have been forced to flee their homes in search of refuge.

In the eastern region, where the conflict has been most severe, the number of Internally Displaced Peoples, or IDPs, reached 1.68 million in 2010.

Many leave their homes in rural villages to seek refuge in more populated areas.

Pygmies living in the jungle are susceptible to violence. As a distinct minority group, they’re even more vulnerable to the attacks of rebel groups.

Andre is one of these pygmies. He tried to remain in his village, but after finding several of his neighbors murdered by machete he knew he needed to flee.

“They left after they have seen four people killed and some of them were just killed with machetes in the forest so before then he said now these are the people from my own tribe and who knows who is going to be the next one.”

Kambale Mandefu was also driven from his home and is now living in Beni.

He, his wife and their nine children were seeking refuge in a local church. But after he was threatened by the local military, he decided to run.

“You don’t run away because we are going to protect you against any harm from the official army, but if you run away from this place we are going to consider you as being the one who is going to share the information about us so we are going to kill you.”

UNICEF has provided funding for several camps for displaced people, but their contributions have been called “band-aid” solutions or short term fixes.

Doxy Nepa-Nepa is the head of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs in Beni. She’s passionate about working with displaced people and helping them establish new lives.

“It’s a commitment and it’s a calling. Joining the ministry of social affairs in your initial stage you know you are going to be dealing with people who dealing with hardships so we have to sacrifice ourselves in order to seek for the welfare of the community. You know I am a part of this community and the sufferings of my country is mine so I feel like I am apart of those who are suffering so I am committed although there are difficulties but there are no other persons to do that unless we take this and do it.”

For Doxy, one of the most difficult aspects of her job is dealing with the people who have been sexually violated.

Over the last fifteen years, tens of thousands of females have experienced sexual violence.

But numbers lie sometimes. Only women who seek treatment are counted.

The number of reported cases is more than forty thousand, but the UN estimates the actual number to be closer to two hundred thousand.

The UN also reported sixty-five per cent of the assaults were against children. Ten per cent   of those children were under the age of ten.

Twenty-two per cent of reported sexual assaults occur against men.

“There is another bomb that has not yet exploded; the young women and girls are among internally displaced peoples because there is no sustainable activity or training prepared for them. Most of them, if not all are now a reservoir of sexual business. They have been exposed to many diseases, but there is no other way for them to survive other than selling their bodies.”

The future of the Congo is uncertain. Many Congolese believe if the government becomes more transparent, with less corruption and if opportunities for civilians increase, there will be hope for the country to thrive.

Guslain believes above all, love is the main ingredient needed to rebuild the nation he calls home.

“We need to love the country, we need to love our people and if this is the case, our people is the whole nationwide and then we have to love them all equally no matter where they come from and if we do so, we are going to do things that will bring peace to the country.”

Potential small business owners in Fredericton may face another obstacle besides a sluggish economy. The doctor shortage in Fredericton and the country can hit small businesses especially hard. The shortage may make Fredericton an undesirable city to move to. It can also take away valuable staff members if they are sick and can’t be seen right away.
Emily Brawley owns a franchise of Made You Blush, a makeup shop downtown. The store sells unique makeup products and employs professional makeup artists. Because their work is so specialized, Brawley says finding the right staff members can be hard enough. If one of them is sick, it puts a strain on the others working.

“So we are booked solid. We’ll have a day where all three of us are booked the whole day long and if one of them were to be sick I’d have to call and cancel on these people. There’d be no… there’s no like, reserve of other makeup artists that could come in and do it.”

Brawley’s not alone. Fredericton Chamber of Commerce President Andrew Steeves is worried about the effect the doctor shortage will have on business in Fredericton.

“If there’s a doctor shortage and you have current staff that are already here, and they are struggling to find a doctor, or their existing doctor retires or moves away, then all of a sudden they’re thrown into the waiting list as well.”

Donnell Blonjeaux is a student at St. Thomas University. She doesn’t have a family doctor, and has to rely on walk-in clinics whenever she needs to be seen.

“So it’s hard, it’s difficult. Like, you have to wait, or you have to know someone who knows them that can like, recommend you to them, so it’s quite the process. So, it’s difficult.”

“If the doctor shortage in Fredericton continues, it doesn’t look like signs like these will be going away anytime soon. For STU Journalism, I’m Aleisha Bosch.”

There was music… there was dancing… and there was politics.

A Fredericton crowd gathered last week to hear candidate for Mayor, Matthew Hayes present his twelve ideas about the city’s future.

“If we want to draw creative, innovative people to work in our economy, we need to have neighborhoods that those people want to live in, where they want to go for coffee in, where they want to meet people in,”  Hayes said.

Among supporters, Saint Thomas University students who know him from the classrooms, have volunteered  to organize Hayes’ campaign.

“The way we engage people is by offering a really exciting and incredible  alternative to the status quo,” says Ella Henry, one of the volunteers.

Hayes is running for the first time in the city elections and will compete against veteran Mayor Brad Woodside.

“Everyone knows who Brad Woodside is,  not that many people know who I am yet,  so the challenge for me is to get my name out there and make  it so that people know who I am,” Hayes said.

The elections are just around the corner. And  no matter who wins ,the people of Fredericton want their city to change for the better.

Chris Smissaert is a Fredericton resident who attended the event.

“We have a very, very good city and it is time to bring it to the 21^st century,” he said.

Candidates have six weeks left to engage people in their campaigns, but that is not enough.

Blogger Charles LeBlanc has another concern about the election.

“You can have support on social media, you can have support all over the place. Support is good, but will they vote?” He said.

The biggest challenge  the candidates will face in the city elections is not about getting their ideas across.

It’s about getting people to vote.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Physical activity is important for all ages.

But for kids it’s more important because their body is just starting to develop.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says youth between the ages of five to 17 are encouraged to exercise for one hour a day.

Adults and Seniors are only expected to stay active for at least 2 and half hours a week.

One of the most popular physical activities in New Brunswick is hockey.

Hockey New Brunswick has over 17,000 players, coaches, and bench staff involved in the sport.

Many stakeholders involved with hockey in Fredericton say the city doesn’t have enough ice surfaces to accommodate winter sports.

However Nic Jansen, the Technical Coordinator for Hockey NB, says there’s more than enough.

“From our standpoint the infrastructure is there. Obviously the new rink’s going up in the fall, we also have the Willie O’Ree, and Aitken Centre so on our stand point there’s enough ice to go around,”

But with only six ice surfaces in the city, people are scrambling for the prime ice time between the hours of 6pm to 10pm.

“Everybody wants primetime ice, everybody wants to play at 7 or 8 o’clock and it’s just not feasible, we can’t build rinks and have every group playing from 7 o’clock to 10’o’clock and it being emptied the rest of the day,” says councillor Steven Hicks.

But with children, and parents going to school, and working 9 to 5 those are the only times many people can go.

Another issue with winter sport surfaces is the Fredericton Curling Club is the only accessible curling rink in the city.

The Capital Exhibit centre is the bigger and warmer rink of the two, but people with mobility disabilities are not able to get on the ice.

Michael Fitzgerald says a lot of places are not accessible in Fredericton, but what he’s more worried about is the media doesn’t give very much coverage to Para-Olympic sports.

“When the Para-Olympics are on you certainly don’t get the coverage that you do for the regular Olympics and even though Canada win’s more medals at the Para-Olympics. Then they do at the Olympics. Whether it’s the media not going out or not. I don’t know the reasoning behind all that,”

Fitzgerald won the bronze medal last year at the Wheel Chair Curling Canadian Nationals. Team Nova Scotia who he skipped for went 9-1 in the round robin play.

Fitzgerald hopes that he will be able to create a New Brunswick team by next year to go to nationals, but they don’t have a female to play for them.

“There’s nine provinces represented at the Nationals. Just PEI and New Brunswick, don’t have a team yet. But we’re working on it,”

Canadian Wheel Chair Curling Championships says each team must have at least one female.

“80,000 thousand people in New Brunswick live with a mobility disability. Ability New Brunswick is a non-profit organization, that’s helps these people with everything from employment, to active living and recreation,”

Ability New Brunswick has been chosen to oversee a new program called Para-sport and Recreation New Brunswick.

This Program helps people with mobility disabilities get involved in sports and recreation such as wheel chair basketball.

“New Brunswick was one of the last provinces to have a formal Para-sport and recreation program in place. This is a really good start and what we get to do is learn from best practises of other provinces. What’s worked well and what hasn’t, We’re really trying to create more opportunities for people with physical disabilities to engage in programs,” says Executive Director of Ability NB, Haley Flaro.

Ability NB also helps people with mobility disabilities meet there needs, so they can play the sport they love.

“Our organization is really focused on solutions. We had a high school build us a bunch of bowling assist ramps and individuals can use these ramps when bowling and they’re getting strikes and bowling way better than I even can. They’re lots of creative solutions and it doesn’t mean that you have to have certain programs it can be some bowling ramps at a bowling alley that can make them really inclusive programs,” says Flaro.

Ability NB says even though people do have a mobility disability, it’s important for them to stay active.

“I feel better, my self-esteems better, my spirits are better, I feel healthier. It’s so important when you have a mobility disability it can be easy to be in active,” says Flaro.

“The University of New Brunswick provides a lot of active living events for their students hear at the Richard J Currie Center gym. They provide things like a spin room, a indoor track, and even a intramural program that has 2000 students participate yearly,”

Tom White the Intramural coordinator at UNB says there are all kinds of benefits to the intramural program they offer their students.

“Obviously you want people to stay active and like I said it’s a good way to stress release from studying, good way to meet people, bond with the houses and your faculty, and it’s just fun like you said not everybody plays varsity sports,”

Alex Vietinghoff is a 4th year St. Thomas student training to become a personal trainer he says it’s important to always stay hydrated whenever you do something active.

“Your body is around 75 per-cent made of water anyways and if you’re exercising and your body is hot, the water is going to be disappearing. So you need to replenish and you just need it for energy. It’s a good thing to do you don’t want to dehydrate,”

Vietingoff also says that it’s important to stay active because our bodies are meant to move and too push and pull.

“People don’t actually use their body for those things, that’s what causes obesity and heart disease risk and so if someone say has a desk job and they don’t do anything that will require them to move or do some type of exercise. It’s really important they find a sport,”

With the hustle and bustle of society now a day’s many people find it hard to find time to be active.

Vietingoff says it’s all about priorities.

“Probably prioritize and make time to exercise and even if it means at their lunch hour instead of sitting at a desk eating a sandwich. Just go for a jog or after work instead of going home right away, they can work out,”

Whether there are not enough rinks, not enough accessible venues, or not enough hours in the day. Stats show it’s still important to remain active for the required amount of time a day.

For STU Journalism I’m Justin Marshall.

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