‘Refugees have a lot to give Canada’
KITCHENER — Bringing refugees to Canada is a win-win situation, says a Kurdish woman who fled Iraq.
“Refugees have a lot to give Canada,” Asmaa Cober said.
“When you look at refugees, I urge you to look past their traumas and to their potential and strengths that they can use to enrich Canada.”
Cober spoke about her personal experiences at the Walk with Refugees for a Stronger Canada event on Saturday afternoon in Kitchener, hosted by the Community Coalition on Refugee and Immigrant Concerns in honour of World Refugee Day.
Refugees, sponsors, politicians and community members walked from Kitchener City Hall to Victoria Park, with stops along the way to hear from refugees and sponsors.
“It always reminds us that no one chooses to be a refugee,” said Kitchener-Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife before the small group of about 30 headed down King Street.
“This walk is about standing in solidarity with refugees, shoulder to shoulder.”
Cober said growing up in Iraq, basic freedoms were denied to Kurdish people.
“Being able to say I’m Kurdish says a lot about Canada,” she said outside the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre. “I can speak my language in public.”
Her family endured the Iraq-Iran war and the first Gulf war, before they smuggled themselves into Turkey to seek UN refugee status. Half the family was deported back to Iraq and the other half moved to a refugee camp. Cober was separated from her family for 10 years when they received Canadian government sponsored refugee status because she was 19 and considered an independent adult under the immigration policy at the time.
“This is an example of how policies can impact people’s lives,” she told the group. Cober finally rejoined her family in 2003. “After arriving in Canada, I rebuilt my life,” she said. “I got to know my family again.”
Kitchener Centre MP Raj Saini said he was at a recent gathering of Syrian newcomers and they all expressed their thankfulness, and he said he felt proud to represent the community.
“You really made them feel welcome,” he said.
At the stop at Speaker’s Corner, Shelley Steele and Sue Hummel talked about the Syrian family of six their interfaith group brought to Waterloo last year.
Communication was a challenge at first, but “it’s been such a joy,” Steele said.
“We’ve become more than friends. We are family,” she said. “It’s a growing relationship and one that’s going to last forever.”
The walk wrapped up in the park at the opening ceremonies for the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Festival, celebrating its 50th birthday this weekend.