Human rights activist Remzi Cej named to Speak Truth to Power Canada project

When Remzi Cej and his family emigrated to Newfoundland and Labrador as refugees in 2000, he was a 17-year-old student.

Fifteen years later, junior high and high school students across the country are going to learn about Cej's remarkable story.

Cej and his family left war-torn Kosovo in 1999 and then spent more than a year in several refugee camps in Albania.

Recently named one of 12 Canadians in the Speak Truth to Power Canada Project, Cej told the St. John's Morning Show this week he's humbled to be "in the company of giants." 

"Rick Hansen, whom we already know as a paralympic athlete, and the founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation. He's worked extensively to remove barriers for people with disabilities," he said.

"Arthur Miki, who at the age of five was sent to an internment camp as a Japanese Canadian, and worked for most of his life to receive an apology from the Canadian government."

The initiative was specifically designed for students in Grades 5 to 12.

"It's a result of a survey that the Canadian Teacher's Federation did with teachers across the country, and they asked them what could we do about human rights education," he said.

"And one of the things that teachers overwhelmingly suggested or recommended they do is tell stories of Canadians doing activism, doing human rights work, experiencing human rights abuses — and tackling those abuses in any way possible in their communities across the country."

Project partners that include Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. 

"One of the amazing things about the research is teachers have the ability to not just to tell my story — but people who are undergoing refugee experiences right now around the world."

"Teachers can choose how much detail they want to get into, but they have a vast amount of resources and information they can use for all sorts of human rights on 12 different topics to focus on in their classes."

Cej, who became a Rhodes Scholar, is the chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission. He was chosen as one of the youngest recipients of the YMCA Peace Medal for Human Rights Education, and was also awarded the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award.