At the border called hope: Where refugees are neighbours

by Mary Jo Leddy

Refugees are a controversial topic of discussion in Canada today. All too often, they are treated as nameless statistics or caricatures in the occasional story that flares across the front pages of newspapers. In At The Border Called Hope , refugees have names and faces and they reveal a Canada that is better than we think and worse than we know. At the Border Called Hope tells the remarkable story of Mary Jo Leddy's fight for justice on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 1997

About the author

Mary Jo Leddy is a Canadian writer, speaker, theologian and social activist.

Leddy is widely recognized for her work with refugees at Toronto's Romero House. She began working for the centre as a night manager in 1991, and has been active in human rights issues and the peace movement. She is an adjunct professor, Regis College, University of Toronto, and an active member of the Ontario Sanctuary Coalition.

In 1973, she was the founding editor of the Catholic New Times, an independent Catholic newspaper.

Leddy was the recipient of a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto with a thesis titled "The Event of the Holocaust and the Philosophical Reflections of Hannah Arendt." She studied under the direction of Emil Fackenheim, and she is currently a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, and a board member of PEN Canada and Massey College. After thirty years as a member of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, she left the congregation in 1994.

Leddy received the Human Relations Award of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews in 1987, the Ontario Citizenship Award in 1993, and the Order of Canada in 1996. In 2014, she was awarded the Massey College Clarkson Laureate for Leadership in Social Policy.

She has received several honorary doctorates: D.Lett from York University, Toronto; D.H.Litt from Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax; LL.D from University of Windsor; D.Litt from University of Waterloo, DD from Emmanuel College, University of Saskatchewan; and D.Min. from Catholic Theological Union, University of Chicago.

Her numerous awards include The Governor General’s Bronze Medal; the Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship; the Canadian University Presidents’ Award “Outstanding Young Woman of 1978”; the Ida Nudel Human Rights Award (1983); The Canadian Council of Christians and Jews Human Relations Award (1987); Award for Distinguished Contribution, Roman Catholic Communicators of Canada (1990); Best Publication Award, College Theology Society (Canada and USA); The Ontario Citizenship Award (1993); several press awards including best editorial, best news story, best theological reflection, best investigative journalism, best national newspaper, best campaign in the public interest. She has also received the Leighton Studio Residence (twice) Banff School of the Arts Award, Order of Canada (1996) and the Gunther Plaut Humanitarian Award (2011).

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an insightful look into Canada's immigration system. It both inspired and angered me, and I appreciate the author's perspective of doing what you can for a few people (even if it's not everybody), while also trying to implement change in the system. The stories of the refugees, and volunteers, tugged on my heartstrings, and the thread of hope was lovely.

[Guthrie Veech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to open eyes to refugee ministry. Thank you Romero House, Toronto, Canada.

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first learned of Romero House when their current director, Jenn McIntyre came to my school to speak (Guelph is her Alma Mater) where she studied International Development, before going to the University of Toronto to study theology. I found the community she described really interesting. The following week, a United Church minister, who I regularly meet with on campus, told me about Mary Jo Leddy (often cited as Romero House's founder), after we talked about Romero House and the ongoing refugee crisis in the Levant. He said Mary Jo Leddy’s books would be worthwhile to check out. Nearly half a year later, I finally got around to borrowing one from my school’s library and I absolutely loved it.

It was a surprising page-turner. So many of my experiences in school learning about forced migration have felt weighty and overwhelmed with statistics and logistical difficulties, and I’ve found it difficult to connect with in a human way. This type of book gives me hope that there is something beautiful that exists beyond the confines of Peter Singer's austere utilitarianism, and that individual human lives do matter in a personal and emotional way, and statistical efficiency and 'rationalism' do not automatically translate into greater well-being.

This book was entirely composed of stories of people who have been a part of the Romero House community. There were a number of times I sat crying in public because of this book. Other times I felt extremely outraged at how shitty Canada has been to refugees.

It recalled for me a line in Wendell Berry’s “Jayber Crow”: "For him himself, I sort of felt sorry. But he was not there as himself... He did not speak for himself but for a man behind a desk who spoke for a man behind another desk, who also did not speak for himself.”

This is how the bureaucratic channels functioned for many refugees who were given the runaround a thousand times while struggling to barely survive in a land of alleged plenty - met with Catch 22s at every fork in the road. This book was published in 1997, and I hope things since then have changed, though I’m very skeptical and I hope to read up more about the newcomer experience in Canada soon. (Some of my favourite parts of the book were stories about a handful of churches who provided sanctuary for refugees who remained in Canada ‘illegally’ after getting deportation notices back to countries where they faced almost certain death or violence.)

[Kristibeth Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It gives you a good sense of the many hardships that refugees have to go through both in this country and abroad. Romero House in Toronto seems like an amazing community that brings out the best in people.