Teddy offers warm welcome — or ‘Ahlan’ to Syrian kids
Immigrant settlement agency plans to hand out 1,000 of the bilingual teddy bears
A simple “welcome” — or “Ahlan” in Arabic — can go a long way toward making someone feel at home in a new country.
And that’s what 9-year-old Sasha Nafaa hopes the Ahlan Bear, a talking stuffed animal, does for Syrian newcomer children.
It’s Sasha’s bubbly greeting that’s embedded in the bear along with 63 other pairs of phrases in English and Arabic.
“They lost all their friends from home and came to Canada lonely,” said Sasha, a Grade 4 student at Castlebridge Public School in Mississauga. “Who doesn’t like teddy bears? You could hold them and when you press the bear, my voice comes out. I just want to welcome these kids and be their friend.” The talking teddy bear was officially unveiled Friday. The project was started by COSTI, which offers settlement services to newcomers, and Rethink Canada, an advertising agency that came up with the idea and was the creative force behind the non-profit project.
“Many of the Syrian children have been traumatized by the experience out of conflict zones. They picked up the anxiety of their parents from living in an uncertain environment. We’ve heard of stories of kids coming to Canada sleeping under their beds,” said Mario Calla, COSTI’s executive director.
“Giving these kids a talking bear through difficult time is a neat way to reinforce the idea that they are safe and welcome here.”
When hugged or squeezed, the stuffed animal speaks different daily phrases such as “What is your name?” and “How are you?” as well as Canadian touchstones like “I love hockey!” and “Let’s build a snowman!”
As part of a pilot project, some 150 of the bears were assembled by COSTI and Rethink Canada volunteers and have already been distributed to Syrian newcomer kids in Greater Toronto.
To date, Canada has welcomed more than 32,700 Syrian newcomers, with roughly 60 per cent of them children.
“It’s so hard for anyone coming to this country without the knowledge of the language and customs,” said Aaron Starkman, a partner at Rethink Canada and director of the Ahlan Bear project.
“These kids have been through so much. We want to make it a little easier for them to adjust to their new home.”
A stateless refugee born in Beirut to a Palestinian father and Lebanese mother, Sasha said she knows first hand the feeling of loneliness — she, too, has five teddy bears to keep her company.
“I want these other kids to know they are taken care of here. I want them to learn to speak English. I want to treat them like my family and encourage them to be anything they want to,” said Sasha, who came to Canada with her parents and 16-year-old brother, Hassan, in August 2015 under the skilled immigration class. Sasha’s mother, Mirna El Sabbagh, said her two children were born stateless like their Palestinian father because Lebanon only allows its men to pass on Lebanese citizenship to their children.
“Sasha was a refugee herself,” said Sabbagh, a former international aid worker in Beirut and now the stakeholder engagement manager at COSTI. “We came to Canada because our diverse society accepts others.”
The Ahlan Bears cost $40 each to manufacture and COSTI would like to raise enough money to give away1,000 of them to arriving Syrian newcomer children in the coming year.
The project’s website is ahlanbear.com.