A group of Corner Brook residents gathered at the terminal, including MP Gudie Hutchings, to greet the Syrian family of four arriving on Newfoundland soil for the first time.
They held homemade welcome signs and put on large smiles to let the refugee family know they won’t be alone as they settle into a new life.
Rose Habib of Corner Brook was there to translate. Arabic speakers are few and far between in Corner Brook, so Habib anticipates her services will be required more than once.
Right away, Habib told the family about the warm welcome that was in store for them.
“The first thing I said to them in Arabic is to be very appreciative to be in this community surrounded with beautiful people,” said Habib. “You need to know this every morning, how much you’re lucky to be here in Corner Brook.”
Habib was told by the family that they were nervous during their flight to Deer Lake because they had no idea whether they would be alone at the airport once they landed.
“After they arrived, they were so happy after I explained to them … they were going to stay in a beautiful house, all furnished,” said Habib. “They were so excited to see the house.”
The family consists of father Mohammad al Homsi, mother Faten Fouad al Shahadat, and the children, Khaled al Homsi, 9, and Jamila al Homsi, 8.
Habib says the most beautiful moment came when the two children got to see their bedrooms, and all the things in them, for the first time.
“I showed the girl her room, full of pink, and I showed the boy his room,” Habib said. “I was so happy when I seen the kids, and the way they looked at the stuff, the house, and the toys … you could start seeing the smile. It was beautiful.”
Four days’ notice
The Refugee Support Group Corner Book Region has worked long, hard hours to bring the family here. The group raised thousands of dollars to make sure they could sponsor the family for the required 12-month period.
Despite all the planning and preparation, the group received four days’ notice, on Christmas Eve, that the family would be arriving Monday morning.
Ivan Emke and other group members spent part of their holiday preparing the family’s house for their arrival.
Emke believes the earlier arrival came as a result of the federal government’s promise to bring 10,000 Syrian’s to Canada by the end of December.
Now that they have arrived, Emke said they are learning more about the family. He said the four had to flee their Syrian home four years ago because of war. Eventually, they ended up in Lebanon and lived in a refugee camp.
“They come from a background that any of us would consider to be traumatic,” said Emke.
The short notice means the group will be doing some scrambling to make sure everything is in place, but the essentials were all ready for the family’s arrival.
Although there is a language barrier at the moment, Emke is positive the two young children, who learned some English while at school in the refugee camp, will pick up the language quickly.
“The expectation is that they will smoothly move into being the translators for the family, which is a common pattern when immigrants and refugees come to Canada,” said Emke.
A group of Corner Brook residents gathered at the terminal, including MP Gudie Hutchings, to greet the Syrian family of four arriving on Newfoundland soil for the first time.
They held homemade welcome signs and put on large smiles to let the refugee family know they won’t be alone as they settle into a new life.
Rose Habib of Corner Brook was there to translate. Arabic speakers are few and far between in Corner Brook, so Habib anticipates her services will be required more than once.
Right away, Habib told the family about the warm welcome that was in store for them.
“The first thing I said to them in Arabic is to be very appreciative to be in this community surrounded with beautiful people,” said Habib. “You need to know this every morning, how much you’re lucky to be here in Corner Brook.”
Habib was told by the family that they were nervous during their flight to Deer Lake because they had no idea whether they would be alone at the airport once they landed.
“After they arrived, they were so happy after I explained to them … they were going to stay in a beautiful house, all furnished,” said Habib. “They were so excited to see the house.”
The family consists of father Mohammad al Homsi, mother Faten Fouad al Shahadat, and the children, Khaled al Homsi, 9, and Jamila al Homsi, 8.
Habib says the most beautiful moment came when the two children got to see their bedrooms, and all the things in them, for the first time.
“I showed the girl her room, full of pink, and I showed the boy his room,” Habib said. “I was so happy when I seen the kids, and the way they looked at the stuff, the house, and the toys … you could start seeing the smile. It was beautiful.”
Four days’ notice
The Refugee Support Group Corner Book Region has worked long, hard hours to bring the family here. The group raised thousands of dollars to make sure they could sponsor the family for the required 12-month period.
Despite all the planning and preparation, the group received four days’ notice, on Christmas Eve, that the family would be arriving Monday morning.
Ivan Emke and other group members spent part of their holiday preparing the family’s house for their arrival.
Emke believes the earlier arrival came as a result of the federal government’s promise to bring 10,000 Syrian’s to Canada by the end of December.
Now that they have arrived, Emke said they are learning more about the family. He said the four had to flee their Syrian home four years ago because of war. Eventually, they ended up in Lebanon and lived in a refugee camp.
“They come from a background that any of us would consider to be traumatic,” said Emke.
The short notice means the group will be doing some scrambling to make sure everything is in place, but the essentials were all ready for the family’s arrival.
Although there is a language barrier at the moment, Emke is positive the two young children, who learned some English while at school in the refugee camp, will pick up the language quickly.
“The expectation is that they will smoothly move into being the translators for the family, which is a common pattern when immigrants and refugees come to Canada,” said Emke.
