MONTREAL DIARY
Local Syrian man lives in worry
SMALL TALKS is a portrait of Montreal drawn through conversations with fellow Montrealers. This is for those of you who believe that it is our differences that make Montreal the irreverent city we love. This week: Ryad Khoury, 65 I visited Damascus, Syria for 36 hours in December 2010, just before the uprising of March 2011. The journey from Lebanon to Syria was hugely unnerving, but Damascus was fascinating. I feel lucky to have glimpsed a place that is now in its fourth year of war, and since then, I always make time to chat with the Syrians I meet — like my dry cleaner, Ryad Khoury, a father of three adult children, who left Syria with his family in 1994, and moved to Montreal in 2002.
Q: Tell me who you are. A: I’m an immigrant like any other. We came here for a better future, especially for the kids. I never went back, but my wife and kids have. I am from Aleppo. There are (still) many families we know there. My mother-inlaw is too old to leave.
Q: How has life changed for them? A: Too much. … They no longer have any hope. Before all this they thought, ‘Things will change, it will die down, we will live as before.’ But now, when we speak to them, that’s over. We don’t ask them how they are anymore — just hearing their voices over the phone lets us know they’re still alive.
Q: Is there a way to send them money or help? A: We always find a way. There are always people going … through Lebanon. They drive across the border. We try to send them small amounts — I imagine all families do it.
Q: What do you like about Montreal? A: Above all, freedom. Respect for human rights, which we didn’t have in our country. And people really welcomed us, we felt it from the moment we landed at the airport. We work hard but … we have security.
What would you change about Montreal? A: I am pretty satisfied — maybe the roads, the potholes (laughs).
Q: What issue is taking up your headspace? A: In the past, I concentrated on work, my children’s futures … but now ... we are well integrated, our kids are OK, business is fine — now, it’s Syria. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that every hour, every day, I listen to the news, and my wife is constantly online looking for news.
All my friends (from Aleppo) are now here. ... We see each other every week, my wife has a lot of her family here, too. We live as though we were in Syria, we cook our food … we argue because some are still pro-regime. I am against it 100 per cent. But in the end, we are happy together.
Q: What is the hardest thing to talk about in your own life? A: The situation at home, because we have no answers. ... But here, we try to assimilate and live like others. My children have friends of all ethnicities and backgrounds.
Q: Is the world becoming a better place or not? A: I think so … there are so many new ideas about freedom, about mutual understanding — even with all these religious wars, I think things will get better with time. People are trying to be better. OK, there is more racism, you could even say there is one major form of racism right now: against Muslims. There are people (Muslim fundamentalists) trying to make us change things in our own lives, which is unacceptable … they must let people be. ... Other than that, I see many positive things with technology, with knowledge being shared. Kids know more than we did at their age!
Q: If you died tomorrow, what would your last thought be? A: I lived my life as I wanted to — I did so many things — I lived in many countries.
I have a beautiful family, I am happy about my family, I will die happy.