Syrian family gets early Christmas gift
For four of Prince George’s newest residents, the weekend snowfall was a welcome sight. A family of Syrian refugees – Orwa Gharzaldin, Souher Alshoufi and their two children Tala and Farah – arrived at Prince George Airport on Friday. The family had been living in Beirut, Lebanon, for three years after leaving Syria. A group of local women worked for two years to bring them to Prince George.
The armed conflict in Syria, now in its sixth year, forced the family to abandon their home in As-Suwayda, a city south of Damascus. They managed to reach the Lebanese border in a taxi, opting to remain in Beirut instead of overcrowded refugee camps. At the time of their departure for Canada, the family was living in one room of a shared apartment, unable to afford renting their own place.
Dorothy Friesen was among a group of five individuals who sponsored the family. The group initially applied to sponsor a refugee family in the summer of 2016.
She was moved to do something after seeing news photos of Alan Kurdi, a three-year old Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after his family attempted to reach Europe.
“In September of 2015 when I saw that little boy dead on the beach, I said ‘what can I do?’” Friesen said.
She initially posted the photo to the popular Facebook group Hell Yeah Prince George and was later contacted by other women equally interested in helping sponsor a family. The group eventually became a large-scale community fundraising effort and managed to raise $32,000, enough for a family of four.
The effort involved many businesses and donors. Local restaurants like Nancy O’s and Shiraz Cafe and Restaurant stepped up to host fundraisers. An independent group in Quesnel organized a large fundraising dinner.
“I can’t say that our group did a lot to raise the money, it was the people of Prince George that just wanted to help. They were like me: ‘what can I do to help?’” Friesen said.
In the midst of the fundraising, she said the group was approached by a UNBC student who was originally from Syria. He asked if they would consider sponsoring his sister-in-law and her family.
The group agreed, and submitted the sponsorship paperwork to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
They didn’t hear anything for more than a year.
“It is frustrating when you’re waiting because the money is just sitting in the bank, you’re not getting any interest, it’s sitting in trust,” Friesen said.
Finally, last month, they received word; the family would finally be arriving.
Donations once again began flowing in. This time, it was for dishes and furniture.
One member of the group, who worked at Northern Health, set aside a second Christmas hamper at her workplace for the family.
By the time the family arrived on Friday afternoon, an apartment had been secured and furnished. They were greeted at the airport by a group that included the initial five women who had completed the sponsorship application, members of the local Syrian community and Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty.
Among the group was Rose Tohme. She and her family were the first Syrian family to arrive in Prince George in January of 2016. She has since become a settlement worker at the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society of Prince George.
Tohme said that Prince George has been a very welcoming city for Syrian refugees. Eight families, including her own, have arrived since 2015. However, many still face challenges common to many new arrivals.
“For some, it’s still hard. Especially the language, finding jobs,” Tohme said.
“There are many things that are very new to us.”
She said that free language classes, offered by the IMSS, will be available for the Gharzaldin family.
But despite the challenges, Tohme said that she and other Syrians have been grateful for the welcome they have received in Prince George.
For Friesen, she is simply happy that the community of Prince George has managed to deliver an early Christmas gift to the Gharzaldin family.
“It’s been really awesome. They’re so happy they’re here,” she said.