New Syrian family receives a warm welcome in Shelburne

March 4, 2016 · 0 Comments

The Huseyin Alos family has arrived from a refugee camp in Turkey to begin life a new life in Shelburne.

The family has faced many months of peril and Wally Barr, of their sponsorship group First Line for Syria, said, “It was heart-warming to witness the warm reception our new friends received on their first trip to Shelburne.”

The sponsors picked up Khaleel Huseyin Alos, his wife Sabah Abdulkadir, and their seventeen-year-old daughter Helin, in Toronto last Thursday.

Emad and Razan Al Haj Ali, the parents of the family that arrived in Orangeville in December through the Headwaters Refugee Sponsorship Committee, accompanied the First Line sponsors to help with communication.

“Their presence was invaluable,” says Sabine Rohner-Tensee of First Line, “It is amazing how their English has already improved so much.”

Sabine Rohner-Tensee says the Huseyin Alos family has “shared snippets of their journey from their home city of Damascus to the refugee camp in Turkey.

“We know that it involved quite a degree of danger,” she says. “There have been real moments of connection and joy, mixed with moments of loneliness for family left behind and sadness.”

The family had been staying in the home of one of the group members, and everyone has been “taking turns hosting the family for dinners and getting to know them.”

Last Saturday, “with the help of many hands and pick-up trucks,” the family moved furniture and kitchen supplies into their new apartment in Shelburne.

“The superintendent was very kind to let us in early, as the lease begins March,” says the group.

The Huseyin Alos family, is busy getting all settlement papers in order, going to appointments, and enrolling in school and English lessons, and is looking forward to moving into their new home.

First Line for Syria would like to thank “all the amazing people who have been so giving of themselves in the efforts to help this family out.”

The generosity of the community has made it possible for the group to bring a second family to Dufferin County.

Their arrival date is not yet known.

“There was a nice lady who showed them how to use the laundry, an Arabic speaking lady in No Frills who introduced herself and offered her friendship, and people in Caravaggio’s and Jelly’s were wonderfully welcoming,” says Mr. Barr. “There is no doubt that the new family comes from a society where community and socializing with friends and family is a way of life. Being violently uprooted and then landed in such a strange and cold place must be really difficult. Hats off to Shelburne for helping this new family off to a good start.”

The family has also expressed their gratitude for efforts from the many people who have been involved in their resettlement, “with heart felt hugs and sincere smiles,” says Barr.

By Marni Walsh