Since its launch, requests have increased tenfold across the country. They come from all countries in search of a better world. The Canadian judo program to integrate them, established a few months ago, is more and more a success.
Coach Ernst Laraque is well aware of the stakes. The man lived 17 years in Haiti before joining Canada. He was part of the Haitian team at the Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens. He understood very quickly that sport is a real tool for integration. Today, he wants to give back, because he has experienced every obstacle he had to overcome.
Taming one’s adopted country through a combat sport is the objective of a new program from the Canadian Judo Federation. A report by Robert Frosi.
Laroque at Radio-Canada Sports. If I can give back to immigrants, as was the case for me, that’s a plus. When I arrived from Haiti, sport allowed me to meet other people, to also understand the new society that welcomed me.”,”text”:”Since I finished my career as a judoka, my goal is to give back, says Mr. Laroque to Radio-Canada Sports. If I can give back to immigrants, as was the case for me, that’s a plus. When I arrived from Haiti, sport allowed me to meet other people, to also understand the new society that welcomed me.”}}”>Since I finished my judoka career, my goal has been to give back, says Mr. Laroque to Radio-Canada Sports. If I can give back to immigrants, as was the case for me, that’s a plus. When I arrived from Haiti, sport allowed me to meet other people, to also understand the new society that welcomed me.
judo, c’est le plus collectif des sports individuels, tu as besoin de quelqu’un pour avancer, tu ne peux pas avancer tout seul. Donc, à partir de là, ils sont obligés de changer, ils sont obligés d’aller voir les autres et en rien de temps ils font partie de la société.","text":"Je le dis souvent, le judo, c’est le plus collectif des sports individuels, tu as besoin de quelqu’un pour avancer, tu ne peux pas avancer tout seul. Donc, à partir de là, ils sont obligés de changer, ils sont obligés d’aller voir les autres et en rien de temps ils font partie de la société."}}">I often say it, judo is the most collective of individual sports, you need someone to move forward, you can’t move forward alone. So, from there, they are forced to change, they are forced to go see others and in no time they are part of society.
His wife Sarah Mazouz is of Algerian origin, but was born in Gabon where she lived part of her youth before arriving in Quebec more than 10 years ago. She has also represented Gabon twice, at the Olympic Games in Rio and Tokyo.
In addition to her work alongside Minister Lionel Carmant, she trains the youngest every Saturday. She recognizes that sport has been a great engine for her integration.
« Sport has helped me a lot to integrate, precisely. It wasn’t judo right away, it was volleyball and thanks to that, I was able to integrate more quickly into Quebec society. When you come from another country, you are withdrawn, you don’t approach people spontaneously. We have fears. Sport like judo forces you to go towards the other and, quickly, we see that there is no difficulty in being accepted. »
To make this program successful, you have to work with community groups to make it known. We will look for children between the ages of 5 and 14 who are newcomers to Canada to integrate them through sport.
The Alaa and Maria sisters under the eye of Ernst Laraque.
Photo : Clifford Jean-Félix
Fall to get up better
On the tatami, there are now dozens of them running and laughing before training begins.
Right in the middle of the swarm of children, there are the two sisters Alaa and Maria. They arrived two years ago from Algiers. At the beginning, their biggest difficulty was the language barrier, they who grew up speaking Arabic. But, very quickly, they will overcome this obstacle.
Sport helps me integrate well and then I can meet lots of other people who might be able to help me.
explains Alaa, a little embarrassed.
His big sister Maria candidly admits that judo will allow him to defend himself, but above all to age in good health! She too is well aware that judo will help her to get to know her host country better.
judo m’a permis de rencontrer plein d’autres jeunes et j’ai pu améliorer mon français, car quand je suis arrivée, je ne savais pas parler français. Je me suis fait surtout de nouveaux amis. Avant, je pensais à mon ancien pays et je voulais y retourner, mais maintenant, je m’habitue à mon nouveau pays.","text":"Le judo m’a permis de rencontrer plein d’autres jeunes et j’ai pu améliorer mon français, car quand je suis arrivée, je ne savais pas parler français. Je me suis fait surtout de nouveaux amis. Avant, je pensais à mon ancien pays et je voulais y retourner, mais maintenant, je m’habitue à mon nouveau pays."}}">Judo allowed me to meet lots of other young people and I was able to improve my French, because when I arrived, I didn’t know how to speak French. I mostly made new friends. Before, I thought about my old country and wanted to go back, but now I’m getting used to my new country.
Isabella arrives in the dojo, accompanied by her mother. They left Bucaramanga, a city in the Andes Mountains, Colombia, barely a year ago. For those who spoke only Spanish not so long ago, the quality of their French is impressive.
Isabella at her judo class.
Photo : Clifford Jean-Félix
Isabella’s mother confides that it is her daughter who corrects her faults. The shy Isabella is still sad to have left her native Colombia and the rest of her family, but sport makes her forget her pain a little.
I can make new friends
replies the Colombian with a faint little voice.
When asked if she would ever like to compete in the Olympics, her eyes light up.
Yes, I would like to do the Olympics for Colombia, but for my family too.
Judo is a sport where you use the strength of your opponent, also a way to get to know the other better.
judo, c’est un sport où il faut tomber plein de fois pour pouvoir se relever et maîtriser quelque chose et je trouve que c’est une belle analogie avec la vie réelle, soutient l’ex-olympienne Sarah Mazouz. Cela permet aux jeunes de comprendre que ce n’est pas à cause des difficultés qu’il faut rester au sol. Il faut se relever et le judo aide de cette façon- là.","text":"Le judo, c’est un sport où il faut tomber plein de fois pour pouvoir se relever et maîtriser quelque chose et je trouve que c’est une belle analogie avec la vie réelle, soutient l’ex-olympienne Sarah Mazouz. Cela permet aux jeunes de comprendre que ce n’est pas à cause des difficultés qu’il faut rester au sol. Il faut se relever et le judo aide de cette façon- là."}}">Judo is a sport where you have to fall many times to be able to get up and master something and I think it’s a great analogy with real life, says ex-Olympian Sarah Mazouz. This allows young people to understand that it is not because of difficulties that you have to stay on the ground. You have to get up and judo helps in that way.
The invention of judo is attributed to master Jigoro Kano KANO, who said:
A man is not judged by the number of times he falls, but by the number of times he gets up.
