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Canada: A Country for All
1-12-2016
Syrians are going through hell in trying to reach safety as we all know.
Thousands are missing or dead. Since the war began, more than 320,000 people have been killed and nearly 12,000 have been children. Between 2 and 3 million children cannot go to school.
For comparison, there are approximately 633,000 students in BC while the population of BC is 4,631,302. Imagine if every child in BC was not able to go school......
New immigrants have to live with the pain and suffering of knowing that they are leaving behind families and a way of life in war torn Syria in order to make new lives elsewhere. They have paid enormous amounts of money and some with their lives in order to reach safety.
Syrians are leaving their homeland due to violence, collapsed infrastructure and most importantly, the safety of children who are the nation’s best hope for a better future. Children have been forcibly recruited to serve as fighters and human shields.
What we take for granted are luxuries for Syrians fleeing conflict and war. Food, clothing, health insurance, shelter, clean water and hygiene items are basics that every individual deserves. Children should have a safe environment and a chance to play and go to school while adults need options for employment. They need warm clothing, shoes, bedding, heaters, etc.
If we are not First Nations people then each of us is an immigrant or descendents of immigrants. Canada is a nation of immigrants. When we help new immigrants become part of our culture, we can make our country a better place to live for everyone. Let us not forget how we came to this country and how we were welcomed by people who assisted us to gain employment, helped with enrolling our children in school, helped us to understand the laws of living in Canada. All new immigrants have to come to terms and adjust to a very different way of life from what they are accustomed to. We were these immigrants at one point with the same hopes and dreams they carry with them now. Many of our immigrants are our employers, neighbors and friends. Immigrants who put their faith in a country and people that they had very little knowledge of. My prayers are that my Syrian brothers and sisters will achieve their dreams and become successful Canadians.
I am an immigrant from Uganda. My family lived on a when we left Uganda and months later we docked in India because Pakistan was in the middle of a war with India. Our ship was not permitted to dock in Pakistan so the ship landed in Iran. We spent a month on the ship from Uganda to Iran whereas the trip would normally take a week. We travelled by bus from Iran to Pakistan. I left my family in Pakistan while I settled in Canada. I became employed and saved enough funds to have my family join me in Canada two years later. My family and I have not forgotten how difficult it was to settle in a land where everything was foreign to us. We survived and our children thrived and we remind them to never take for granted Allah’s blessings and grace upon us each day. Tell the new immigrants that many who have come before you have succeeded and you will too. It is possible. They will learn by example and friendliness.
I am requesting our community to help by adopting a Syrian family, teach them English and show them how to navigate the daily tasks of living in Canada.
“They ask thee what they should spend (In charity).Say: Whatever ye spend that is good, is for parents and kindred and orphans and those in want and for wayfarers. And whatever ye do that is good, -(Allah) knoweth it well.” (Quran Surah Al-Baqara, 215)
“But if at the time of division other relatives, or orphans or poor, are present, feed them out of the (property), and speak to them words of kindness and justice.” (Quran Surah An-NisaÂ’, 8)
I request our brothers and sisters to translate this letter for our new Syrian neighbors.
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