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July 9, 2016 2:53 PM   Subscribe

Syrian Refugees in small town Canada A feel good story about Syrian refugees settling in small town Canada

A nice break from all the news lately...
posted by troll on a pony (17 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
I recently traveled through Canada, and from Lethbridge AB to Whitehorse YT I was struck by how effortlessly multicultural it seemed. I am sure there are difficulties under the surface, but Canada has embraced immigration in a way that makes me hopeful for humanity.
posted by polyhedron at 3:48 PM on July 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


That was nice, thank you.
posted by maggiemaggie at 3:59 PM on July 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


During a chat at the high school, the crowd of Canadian boys who have bonded with Ali and Zein Hamam explain that, among the traded information, they learned to swear in Arabic, and the Syrians were introduced to Slushies

It's hard to say who is getting the better end of this lovely cultural exchange.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 4:09 PM on July 9, 2016 [22 favorites]


Good to read something about human kindness in a season of so much hate and violence. Thanks. It is easy to forget there is goodness as well as evil in human nature.
posted by mermayd at 4:31 PM on July 9, 2016 [6 favorites]


polyhedron: I am sure there are difficulties under the surface, but Canada has embraced immigration in a way that makes me hopeful for humanity.

I grew up in Alberta, and I could give you a racial tension tour. But I won't. :-)

I'm not surprised to see that it's a Mennonite town. I'm not sure if it's the same in the US, but here in Canada they really seem to take "do unto the least of these" seriously. You may disagree with some of their theology or their "Christian Man's Burden", but they do seem sincere in their commitment to helping people who need it. Social justice is part of their vocabulary.
posted by clawsoon at 4:50 PM on July 9, 2016 [11 favorites]


Thanks, that was a moving read. Good for those welcoming people!
posted by languagehat at 5:39 PM on July 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Maclean's recently had a similar story, part of a series following a refugee family that settled in Peterborough, Ontario,if you want another heartwarming tale.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 5:43 PM on July 9, 2016 [3 favorites]


This is a great story and really great to see that it is in rural Manitoba. It can be such a mixed bag there in my experience. Maybe things are changing... after all Steinbach had its first Pride March today.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:04 PM on July 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's interesting to read this from Saskatchewan, the next province west from Manitoba. I used to work in immigrant/newcomer settlement and learned that Manitoba has a really fantastic, well-funded settlement program with well-coordinated English classes (which the article confirms). Sadly, in Saskatchewan, the settlement programs are mixed. The organizations themselves are wonderful but consistently underfunded and the government is constantly changing policies, so I've heard stories of many newcomers in my province who can't access language and settlement classes -- not because those classes aren't available, but because the provincial government spends a lot of energy trying to limit access to certain groups.

It is heartwarming to read about a positive outcome! Hopefully some of the newcomers will be able to stay past their first year.
posted by bluebelle at 8:27 PM on July 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


mrjohnmuller: "the Syrians were introduced to Slushies"

I hope it was less cruel than the time my gaming group introduced a member to slurpees.

So in college we had fairly large, regular Sunday evening game session. It was sort of open so members would come and go around a core group. One of the traditions of the group was a run to the corner market a couple blocks away for drinks etc. after a couple hours of play. So one night the guy who was going is taking orders and someone asks for a slush. One of the new guys, we'll call him Jeff because that was his name, asks "what's a slush"? Dumbfounded looks all around and then it became a "quest"; the "Quest to get Jeff a Slush".

Now Jeff was a 24 year old freshman because he'd spent the intervening time between high school and now in the army. How the heck someone makes it to 24 years of age in Canada (the #1 Slurpee market in the world) without ever having tried one is one of life's great mysteries. So in the spirit of the 10K everyone piles into assorted cars and the whole group goes to the store to get Jeff a slush. It's a mad house with a dozen guys getting whatever they're getting but eventually we're standing out in the parking lot in big circle and Jeff comes out holding his slush looking a little skeptical.

One of the guys says to Jeff, "OK Jeff, now the way to really enjoy a slush is to take a really long hard initial suck." So he does. In fact he doesn't stop until the brain freeze hits. So now Jeff is dying and everyone else ROFLOL. About five minutes, when the pain subsides enough for him to speak, Jeff tells us that was the most painful thing he has every experienced.
posted by Mitheral at 10:57 PM on July 9, 2016 [3 favorites]


Heartwarming story. Thanks for posting it.

I met the my first Iraqi refugees from this latest crisis at my work-place, just last weekend, on Canada Day. They didn't speak much English at all, and kept apologizing for it. I pointed out that they were able to speak our language well enough to get by, while I spoke precisely no Arabic.

When I asked where they were from, they told me that they had just arrived from Iraq. I said "Welcome to Canada! Thanks for making Canada your new home."

Their eyes just about bugged out of their heads. "You are happy we come?" the husband asked. "Why? You not afraid?" "

"Of course not. It's immigration that makes this country great. It's an honour that you think so highly of this country!"

Tears welled up in the wife's eyes, "Canadians kind peoples! I know this good place."

I showed them on a map my secret spot to see the fireworks that night, and gave them each a little Canadian flag I'd bought at the Dollar Store to take along with them.

That probably has to be just about the best 40 cents I've ever spent.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 11:44 PM on July 9, 2016 [20 favorites]


The New York Times also did a recent piece on Canada's unique private refugee sponsorship system.
posted by Spinda at 1:58 AM on July 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


bluebelle: It's interesting to read this from Saskatchewan, the next province west from Manitoba. I used to work in immigrant/newcomer settlement and learned that Manitoba has a really fantastic, well-funded settlement program with well-coordinated English classes (which the article confirms).

You'd obviously know, but some others might not, that Manitoba was run by the (at least nominally) socialist NDP from 1999 up to the election this April, while Saskatchewan has been run by the right-wing Saskatchewan Party since 2007. I wonder how much of a difference that made, and I wonder how long the excellent Manitoba programs will continue now that the Conservatives are in power.
posted by clawsoon at 5:22 AM on July 10, 2016


I'm not surprised to see that it's a Mennonite town. I'm not sure if it's the same in the US, but here in Canada they really seem to take "do unto the least of these" seriously.

I recently learned by participating in a private sponsorship group that the Mennonites are the group that sponsors the most refugees in Canada through the Sponsorship Agreement Holder program. The second is World University Services Canada, where students pay a fee every term with tuition (3$per term t my uni) and it is used to sponsor Refugee students
posted by chapps at 7:30 AM on July 10, 2016 [3 favorites]


Interesting and positive is that the federal government is looking at expanding WUSC, and also helping other countries set up Sponsorship Agreement programs, which are unique to Canada. In my town (Victoria) the Anglican Church and the intercultural association are each sponsoring about 40 refugee families through these sponsorship groups--im in one, we are a group of ten who are in a process as described in the article--and this is in addition to 300 government sponsored refugees setting on Vancouver Island.
posted by chapps at 9:23 AM on July 10, 2016 [2 favorites]


Follow up video with some more commentary
posted by troll on a pony at 10:40 AM on July 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Over at the other welcoming nation of the G7, I cannot judge the quality of their social services, but Berlin has a really nice transit map for asylum seekers.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 4:02 PM on July 11, 2016


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