Living the dream
Syrian refugee family making a home in Kensington
Every once and a while Mohammed Albrzawi has to pinch himself.
“We’re in Canada. This is real,” he says. Mohammed, his wife, Maldaa Al Nahas Alhomsi, and their two children, Hala and Kenan, recently arrived in Kensington after a protracted five-year immigration process.
“It was a long haul,” he said, reflecting on the countless hours of travel and layovers that were part of the process of getting from Turkey to Germany and then on to Canada.
The family of four, originally from Damascus, Syria, were doing well before the Syrian civil war started in their homeland in 2011.
“I had my own business. I worked as a florist. We had a house. A car,” he said. Maldaa had worked in the finance department with Samsung as an accountant. “But after the war started things weren’t very safe,” she said.
So, they packed up what they could and left behind their families and moved to Turkey. “I met some nice people there. They helped us find an apartment.
“But I ended up working in a factory and it was very low income. Life in Istanbul, Turkey was very hard,” he explained.
Mohammed eventually found another job, teaching English in Turkey.
Later, he was contacted by his friend Fadi Faisal, who had immigrated to Canada. Faisal told his friends know about the Canadian law that allows refugees to be sponsored and began to work on finding them a sponsorship option.
It was a successful effort. “When I got the email that said we had been partnered with a sponsor group from Kensington P.E.I., it was my happiest day,” he said with a smile.
For months, Mohammed worried the sponsorship wouldn’t work out.
“We hadn’t heard from them after being partnered with
them. We could see our wait time go from eight months, to 12, to 15 to 18.
“I told Maldaa the group was going to give up on us.” Maldaa added, “I felt very lost. We couldn’t keep going
on in Turkey for much longer. It was a really hard time.”
But Patricia Bennett, Carolyn Francis and the members of Kensington and Area Refugee Sponsorship Initiative had no interest in calling it quits. “We weren’t giving up. We got together as a group and decided to keep at this even though we didn’t know when the family would get here,” explained Bennett. Two-years and three months later, the family is settling into their new home in Kensington. “Everybody has made us feel so welcome. Like we’re home. Like we’re not strangers,” said Maldaa.
Mohammed added, “It still feels like we’re dreaming. We’ve waited for this moment since the war started. It was only a few days ago that I was Googling the neighbourhood. Now we’re here.”
Moving forward, the pair is hoping to secure full-time work and see their children prosper in school.
“I begin a part-time position in Summerside at a flower shop this week. And Hala and Kenan are in school during the day. They really like it. On Hala’s first day, when we got into the classroom, they all ran up to her and gave her a hug and said ‘hi’. One even gave her a postcard that said, ‘will you be my friend.’” Maldaa hopes to receive accountant training and find a job similar to what she had in Syria. “Our happiness will be competed when we get to pay our taxes. It’s what makes us a part of this community and country,” said Maldaa.
The pair agree that Kensington is the right fit, regardless of its ‘rural’ reputation.
“You can get lost in a bigger city. It’s nothing like a small community. It’s better for us than going to a city. And the kids really like it here. They wanted a nice house and a garden,” Mohammed said. Maldaa added, “It makes everything easier for us. Even if we had this difficult situation, when I see kids happy and playing and having fun. I’m happy.” Mohammed concluded, “We are so thankful for this opportunity. To have this chance and ability to hope for the future.”