Sri Lankans were refugees

Re: Trial begins for men in human-smuggling case, Oct. 20

The article leaves out some important details which would make this issue more understandable to the readers of The Vancouver Sun.

When the MV Sun Sea arrived on Canadian shores in 2010, there were many calls for treating these “migrants” (as the article calls them so euphemistically) as potential terrorists, or at best as people who deserved to be sent back to their homeland, Sri Lanka.

Journey Home Community, a local non-profit humanitarian organization that assists refugee claimant families with resettlement in Metro Vancouver, was called upon to provide assistance for 10 families. My wife and I provided temporary housing for one of these families. We were made aware of their story, one of fleeing a brutal war in their homeland, of seeing loved ones cut down by guns and knives, of hiding in desperation wherever they could, and finally finding a way to leave the country. These are not migrants, but refugees who fled their homeland because to stay would mean certain death.

I would like to note, however, that despite the controversy surrounding the arrival of this ship and the subsequent issues around human smuggling, most of the families that we helped with their resettlement and adaptation to Canadian life have done remarkably well and are contributing in positive ways to our society. While I cannot endorse all aspects of human smuggling, those of us who have not endured the political and social upheaval that refugees go through will never understand the desperation that causes them to turn to whatever means they can to protect their families.

John Dyck, president, Journey Home Community