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Syrian family settles in Blind River

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When the Slaibi family arrived in Blind River on Sept. 9, sponsorship croup chair Roberta Wilson-Garrett recalls "they had only a few suitcases and a dream.”

Two months later, the family of five is finding its way in it new country, after living for five years in what Wilson-Garrett terms a “refugee situation” in Jordan. To express their appreciation to the people who have helped them to get a new chance at life, the family hosted a meet-and-greet event at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Blind River earlier this month.

“Blind River is a very wonderful community,” said Hussein Slaibi, the father of the family.

Through interpretive software, both Hussein and his wife, Yasmin, expressed their gratitude for the way in which the community has opened its arms to them and their children, Mohammed (age five), Ali (age four) and Belal (18 months old).

The Slaibi family is among the more than 25,000 refugees from Syria who have been welcomed to Canada in the past two years. The refugees are fleeing the ongoing conflict between the allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and various rebel forces, which has resulted in more than 2220,000 deaths and forced more than 11 million people to leave their homes since the conflict began in 2011.

Originally from the city of Daraa, the southernmost city in Syria, the then 22-year-old Hussein and Yasmin were forced to take their infant son Mohammed and leave their war-torn city in 2012 to seek refuge in nearby Jordan. While living in various refugee camps over the next five years, the young family welcomed Ali and Belal, before finding out that they would be able to come to Canada.

“The process to get the family here took 18 months to complete,” Wilson Garrett notes. “We had originally asked to sponsor a family of four, but it was an easy decision for our group to increase our sponsorship to five when the time came to welcome the family.”

Through donations from Blind River area residents, the sponsorship group was able to set the family up in a three-bedroom, fully furnished apartment.

“We were a bit worried about putting a young family in an apartment at first,” Wilson-Garrett admits, “but they have very kind and gracious neighbours who have made their transition to Blind River as easy as possible.”

It will cost the Blind River Sponsorship Group $27,000 to host the Slaibi family for their first year in Canada. However, through the rules of the federal government’s refugee aid plan, the family is on the hook for the cost of their flights to Canada from Jordan, amounting to a further $7,800.

“There are also some extra expenses that the family will have to cover, such as dental bills after living in a refugee situation for five years,” Wilson-Garrett explains.

She notes, however, that the community has been extremely generous and continues to help to support the family as they integrate into the community.

For their part, the young family has shown a great willingness to immerse itself in Canadian culture. Sponsorship group member Warren Wiebe points out that Mohammed and Ali are both loving their classes at Blind River Public School, and that the family has taken part in all sorts of activities in the community.

“They’ve been to a hockey game on their second day in Canada, and they’re always riding their (donated) bikes all around the community,” Wiebe notes. “They’ve been out to the beach and the Boom Camp, and frequently visit all the parks in the area. The kids are even loving the snow that we’ve received this week, and they’re making lots of friends.”

For now, learning English is the top priority for the family. Wilson-Garrett notes that although some English is taught in school in Syria, the family received no training in the language while they were in Jordan.

“Learning English will be a huge help to Hussein as he tries to get a job in Canada,” Wilson-Garrett explains. “Yasmin knows a bit of English already, and the children are picking it up very quickly at school.”

For now, the use of technology such as interpretive software is helping the Slaibi family to communicate. Much of that communication at the meet-and-greet event on Saturday centred around the family’s gratitude to the people of Blind River for helping them to establish a new life in Canada.

“We want to get to know all the people in the community,” Hussein earnestly states. He adds that, “Our family is adjusting very well to our new community in Blind River, we love the people and we want to thank everyone who has helped us.”

Donations are still being accepted to help support the Slaibi family as they make the transition into Canadian society.

Anyone wishing to donate can send a cheque payable to St. Saviour’s Anglican Church (tagged “Refugee Sponsorship”) or contact Roberta Wilson-Garrett at 705-356-0037.

 

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