What refugees need to start new lives Muhammed Idris
About two years ago,
I got a phone call that changed my life.
“Hey, this is your cousin Hassen.”
I froze.
You see, I have well over
30 first cousins,
but I didn’t know anybody named Hassen.
It turned out that Hassen
was actually my mom’s cousin
and had just arrived
in Montreal as a refugee.
And over the next few months,
I would have three more relatives
coming to Canada to apply for asylum
with little more than
the clothes on their back.
And in the two years
since that phone call,
my life has completely changed.
I left academia
and now lead a diverse team
of technologists, researchers and refugees
that is developing customized
self-help resources for newcomers.
We want to help them overcome
language, cultural and other barriers
that make them feel like they’ve lost
control over their own lives.
And we feel that AI can help restore
the rights and the dignity
that many people lose when seeking help.
My family’s refugee experience
is not unique.
According to the UNHCR,
every minute, 20 people
are newly displaced
by climate change, economic crisis
and social and political instability.
And it was while volunteering
at a local YMCA shelter
that my cousin Hassen
and other relatives were sent to
that we saw and learned to appreciate
how much effort and coordination
resettlement requires.
When you first arrive,
you need to find a lawyer
and fill out legal documents
within two weeks.
You also need to schedule a medical exam
with a pre-authorized physician,
just so that you can apply
for a work permit.
And you need to start looking
for a place to live
before you receive
any sort of social assistance.
With thousands fleeing the United States
to seek asylum in Canada
over the past few years,
we quickly saw what it looks like
when there are more people who need help
than there are resources to help them.
Social services doesn’t scale quickly,
and even if communities do their best
to help more people
with limited resources,
newcomers end up spending
more time waiting in limbo,
not knowing where to turn.
In Montreal, for example,
despite millions of dollars being spent
to support resettlement efforts,
nearly 50 percent of newcomers
still don’t know
that there are free resources that exist
to help them with everything
from filling out paperwork
to finding a job.
The challenge is not
that this information doesn’t exist.
On the contrary, those in need are often
bombarded with so much information
that it’s difficult
to make sense of it all.
“Don’t give me more information,
just tell me what to do,”
was a sentiment we heard
over and over again.
And it reflects how insanely difficult
it could be to get your bearings
when you first arrive in a new country.
Hell, I struggled with the same issues
when I got to Montreal,
and I have a PhD.
(Laughter)
As another member of our team,
himself also a refugee, put it:
“In Canada, a SIM card
is more important than food,
because we will not die from hunger.”
But getting access to the right
resources and information
can be the difference
between life and death.
Let me say that again:
getting access to the right
resources and information
can be the difference
between life and death.
In order to address these issues,
we built Atar,
the first-ever AI-powered virtual advocate
that guides you step-by-step
through your first week
of arriving in a new city.
Just tell Atar what you need help with.
Atar will then ask you
some basic questions
to understand your unique circumstances
and determine your eligibility
for resources.
For example: Do you have
a place to stay tonight?
If not, would you prefer
an all-women’s shelter?
Do you have children?
Atar will then generate
a custom, step-by-step to-do list
that tells you everything
that you need to know,
from where to go, how to get there,
what to bring with you
and what to expect.
You can ask a question at any time,
and if Atar doesn’t have an answer,
you’ll be connected
with a real person who does.
But what’s most exciting
is that we help humanitarian
and service organizations
collect the data and the analytics
that’s necessary to understand
the changing needs of newcomers
in real time.
That’s a game changer.
We’ve already partnered with the UNHCR
to provide this technology in Canada,
and in our work have conducted
campaigns in Arabic, English,
French, Creole and Spanish.
When we talk about the issue of refugees,
we often focus on the official statistic
of 65.8 million forcibly
displaced worldwide.
But the reality is much greater than that.
By 2050, there will be
an additional 140 million people
who are at risk of being displaced
due to environmental degradation.
And today – that is today –
there are nearly one billion people
who already live in illegal
settlements and slums.
Resettlement and integration
is one of the greatest
challenges of our time.
and our hope is that Atar can provide
every single newcomer an advocate.
Our hope is that Atar
can amplify existing efforts
and alleviate pressure
on a social safety net
that’s already stretched
beyond imagination.
But what’s most important to us
is that our work helps restore
the rights and the dignity
that refugees lose throughout
resettlement and integration
by giving them the resources that
they need in order to help themselves.
Thank you.
(Applause)