Seven children die in Halifax house fire
Had fled Syria to Nova Scotia two years ago
HALIFAX • Seven children, all members of a Syrian refugee family who arrived in Canada about two years ago, died in an early morning fire Tuesday that witnesses said quickly engulfed a home in a Halifax suburb.
The children ranged in age from three months to 17 years old, according to a woman who lives next door on the quiet street in Spryfield.
Their parents, identified as Ebraheim and Kawthar Barho, were in hospital Tuesday, where Ebraheim was fighting for his life after apparently trying in vain to save his children.
Kawthar Barho was also injured but is expected to survive.
In a brief interview from the hospital, Imam Wael Haridy of the Nova Scotia Islamic Community Centre said the family had fled civil war in Syria.
“We’re here in hospital with a desperate mother who lost seven of her kids,” he said, noting that officials are conducting DNA tests to confirm identities before they can proceed with a traditional Islamic burial process.
“She’s saying to us, ‘Am I going to get my children back?”’ Haridy said. “It’s so hard, it’s so sad.”
Many people from Halifax’s tight-knit Muslim community had gathered at the hospital, he said.
“People want to try to help, but how can we ... how can we provide her with anything?” Haridy said. “You can’t imagine the situation.”
He added: “It’s a shock. It’s a tragedy.”
The family is among 1,795 Syrian refugees who have come to Nova Scotia in recent years, including 345 privately sponsored refugees.
For the Nova Scotians who sponsored the Syrian family, the news of the deaths of the children they’d grown close to came as an “unthinkable” blow.
“I think everyone is devastated and our loss pales in comparison to the parents,” said Natalie Horne, vice-president of the Hants East Assisting Refugees Team (HEART).
Horne said the family arrived on Sept. 29, 2017. She said the children who died are: Ahmad, 14; Rola, 12; Mohamad, 9; Ola, 8; Hala, 3; Rana, 2 and Abdullah, who was born in Canada in November.
She said the family lived in Elmsdale for over a year and then came to Halifax to be closer to refugee support services, such as English-language training.
But she said they had missed the support of the community and the HEART society and had decided to return to Elmsdale.
The tragedy struck just days before the move back would have taken place.
“We were expecting them back in our community on March . ... It was a huge loss for the family, when they moved. And they were looking forward to coming back. The children especially,” she said.
The group added in a Facebook post: “For the past year and a half, the children have been able to enjoy life as kids should be able to: going to school, riding bicycles, swimming, having friends, running in the yard, celebrating birthday parties and hanging out with the neighbours on their porch swing. They loved every minute of it, and it seems impossible we won’t hear their laughter and feel their hugs again.”
Halifax Fire Deputy Chief Dave Meldrum told reporters it was the deadliest fire anyone could remember in Nova Scotia.
“Words fail when children are taken from us too soon, especially in circumstances like this,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet. “My heart goes out to the survivors of the horrible fire in Halifax this morning, and the loved ones who are mourning this tremendous loss.”
Danielle Burt, who lives next door to the family on Quartz Drive, said she heard a loud bang and a woman screaming just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
She fled the house with her four children and saw the parents outside in a harrowing scene.
“The mother was on the grass, praying I guess, bowing her hands down, and pulling on my husband’s arm to call 911,” she said, becoming emotional.
“She said the kids were inside and the dad was sitting on the steps. I think he had gone back in because he was really burnt. It was just awful.”
Burt said her children had become good friends with the children lost in the fire.
“They were just over at our house yesterday,” she said. “It’s just something out of a horror movie that you just never would wish on anybody.”
Imam Abdallah Yousri of the Ummah Mosque and Community Centre in Halifax said the family was from Raqqa, Syria.
He said the funerals would likely be held Wednesday or Thursday.
A fundraising campaign, organized by family friends including the Imam Council of Halifax, has been launched to help the grieving parents.
“They have lost all their children,” the Gofundme page, called Halifax House Fire Tragedy, said. “Mother is thankfully safe but the husband is facing life threatening injuries.”
“We need to support them in facing their calamity and help them finding a new shelter and pay for expected expenses,” the page said. “It’s hard to estimate how much they’ll need to restart their lives.”