The Caravan Against Discrimination stopped at the Jasper Elementary School from Oct. 20 to 22, with Grades 2 to 6 learning what discrimination is, and how they can stop it in their school. 

Joseph Mwamba began the presentations by asking each student to notice what makes each of them different from their fellow classmates. Students picked out hair colour, height, their gender and skin colour as visible differences.

“Even in this room we are making a multi-cultural room,” Mwamba said. 

To bring prejudice into perspective, Mwamba asked the students to think about a common blonde stereotype, and told the students that many blonde women go on to be successful and smart. He told the class how he has been stereotyped as a good hockey player because he is Canadian as well. 

Mwamba showed an image of a yellow duck trying unsuccessfully to approach a group of brown ducks, an image that pleased the students. 

“Do we only have to play with those who look like us?” Mwamba said. 

Prejudice can come from a variety of sources including family, friends, media and the internet, all of which kids are heavily influenced by.

Mwamba discussed the major sources of prejudice in Canada, as outlined by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They include race, colour, origin, religion, gender, handicap, age, marital status and source of income. 

The class was quick to throw out high numbers, reaching the thousands, when Mwamba asked how many races there are in human beings. After students suggested numbers ranging from four to well over the thousand mark, Mwamba told the class there is only one race, the human race. 

“Even though we are different colours, we are all the same,” he said. 

What commonly separates people is skin colour, but Mwamba said what determines it is the chemical melanin. Different skin colours mean different levels of the chemical, but does not change who we are, Mwamba said. 

“You cannot treat someone differently because of the colour of their skin,” he said. 

Origin, or ethnicity can be a common source of prejudice, whether it be national, provincial or ethnic. Mwamba gave Canada’s First Nations people as an example of an ethnicity.

Religion often spurs discrimination, but Mwamba said being informed on religious traditions can stop prejudice.

“There are so many religions in the world and unfortunately there are people in the world that discriminate because of religion,” he said.

Mwamba showed an image of a Muslim girl studying hard in class, and told the students she was no different from them on the inside.

“By getting the knowledge it will eliminate the discrimination,” he said. 

To discuss gender discrimination, Mwamba had three boys volunteer to work through a skit, where a boy suggested the girls couldn’t play basketball because they weren’t as good as the boys. The skit took a turn when the girls proved to be better than some of the boys, and a common stereotype was lifted. 

Mwamba told the students that discrimination can happen anywhere, including in school, at work or at home. 

Discrimination can take many forms, and turn into bullying, intimidation, harassment, mocking and insults. People who are discriminated against often feel isolated, and can even be the victims of violence. Mwamba said many forms of prejudice can often lead to war between religious groups and governments. He discussed the 1995 genocide in Rwanda as the worst-case-scenario of discrimination and prejudice. 

“Most of the wars that happened in the world come from discrimination,” he said.

Mwamba talked about the penalties of discrimination in Canada, under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

“Discrimination is not good. When you discriminate against someone, there are consequences,” he said. “Discrimination is not allowed in Canada.”

To end the session, Mwamba had a message for all the students. 

“Let’s live together despite all the differences.”

Mwamba was accompanied by Jean-Pierre Ilunga, who gave the talk in french to some classes.