Surviving Genocide: Jeremias’ Journey from Guatemala to Advocacy in Canada

Meet Jeremias Tecu, a refugee from Guatemala who has transformed his traumatic experiences into a lifelong commitment to defending the rights of refugees and migrant workers. Jeremias, a member of the Achi Maya community, survived the period of political violence and genocide that devastated Indigenous populations in Guatemala.

He later fled the country due to threats against his family, eventually arriving in Canada in 2002. For more than two decades, Jeremias has lived in New Brunswick, working as a settlement worker and human rights advocate. Since 2003, he has supported newly arrived refugees and played a central role in highlighting the systemic vulnerabilities faced by migrant workers, including exploitation, labour abuses, and human trafficking. Jeremias is closely involved with the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre, an organization dedicated to supporting migrants with precarious status in the Maritimes.

Through his work, he supports displaced families from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, several Latin American countries, and many others, connecting them to essential services and helping them rebuild their lives. He also shares his own story of survival, loss, resilience, and hope, drawing attention to the ongoing impact of global injustices, including the harms caused by multinational mining companies in Indigenous territories.

This video explores Jeremias’s powerful journey, his activism, and his call for a collective and sustained response to the challenges refugees and migrant workers face today.

Learn more at www.voicesinexile.ca.