Syrian Refugee Sponsorship

Syrian Refugee Sponsorship


Erindale has always been a church community that seeks justice for all people, and strives to become a loving, nurturing, ministering community.



In 2018, along with two other United churches in Mississauga ("The North West Mississauga Constituent Group"), we sponsored a Syrian refugee, Tarek Youzbashi. As of April 2022, Tarek is thriving in Canada and has become a Canadian citizen. An update from Tarek is below.


Why resettlement from Syria to Canada matters

The following link shows the BBC's senior foreign correspondent Lyse Doucet (a native of New Brunswick) being reunited with a Syrian family, she met once in Damascus and who are now in Toronto, and the effect settlement in Canada has had on the family, especially the children: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37412117

If you allow the videos to autoplay, you can view a collection of other short BBC reports on the Syrian Crisis by Lyse Doucet.


Doucet was also interviewed by the CBC radio's "As it Happens" posted March 16, 2016 at the link http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.3492260/lyse-doucet-reflects-on-syrian-war-i-ve-never-seen-such-an-intensity-of-desperation-1.3494033

Press the start arrow under the picture to listen to an archived audio link that is 18 minutes and 40 seconds long (18:40) (this link may work only for internet connections within Canada).


Several short clips from Doucet's BBC documentary "Children of Syria" have been uploaded to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxdLv7w1GlE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73NqHnn-6dQ


An Update from Tarek Youzbashi


Four years have now passed since I landed in Canada. I still remember Jim Bright and the other guys standing in the airport holding a sign with my name on it. It all feels like a dream. A four-year dream that I lived with its sweet and bitter moments, with its ups and downs, with its successes and failures. The one important lesson that I learned the hard way is that "do not give up".

 

A year ago, I decided to take the challenge and pursue one of my biggest dreams of becoming a journalist. I enrolled in the journalism program at Humber College to gain the required theoretical and practical knowledge that will get me closer to my dream. Now, I am living another sweet phase of the dream as I will take the Canadian citizenship oath tomorrow [April 26, 2022]. I will become a Canadian citizen who has a voice and who is more than willing to use it. This is a very important moment for me. I decided to share this emotional moment with you, guys, because all this would not have been possible if it was not for all of you. I feel like I am living a dream within a dream within a dream! Most importantly, the dream is not over yet, tomorrow is still waiting for me!

 

Sincerely,

Your fellow Canadian

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