Helping new Immigrants in your City

(Photo: Bulent Kilic/Getty)“I am from there. I am from here.I am not there and I am not here.I have two names, which meet and part,and I have two languages.I forget which of them I dream in.”― Mahmoud DarwishAs of this month, Canada has resettled nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees into a new life.*  Several success stories have been shared via CBC radio of small businesses that have quickly blossomed. One was a man in Calgary who designed and created modest clothing for women with religious considerations. The demand became so great that he was able to lease shop space to expand. Another was a group of women in Ontario who began a Syrian food restaurant with the help of the Christian women’s group who welcomed them at the airport when they arrived.While some settle in quickly, others take more time to adjust to their new surroundings. Social supports are essential for finding housing, learning how to bank and buy groceries, improve language skills and find groups that foster emotional support. Many newcomers have experienced significant trauma.My daughter shared an experience that was posted on her anonymous University Facebook group of a student who was apprehensive about welcoming refugees to Canada. He had seen rhetoric on social media about newcomers taking existing jobs and depleting social systems like welfare and healthcare. While he didn’t consider himself overtly racist, he had heard gossip about terrorists coming to Canada, posing as victims of war. Then he had the following experience:While seated next to a Syrian woman and her children on a city bus, the bus came to a stop, picked up a few people, closed its doors and before accelerating again, the pneumatic brakes of the compressed air system made an audible hiss. Instantly, the Syrian woman leapt from her seat and threw herself over her children to protect them. Her behaviour was an automatic response of having lived through air strikes, fearing her children would be injured or killed.The student said it changed him. He realized he had no right to judge what this family or any other immigrants to Canada may have suffered and that they needed his kindness and compassion. Immigration is never an easy choice but under life and death circumstances, it is especially difficult.If you are looking for ways to help, consider:-Contacting an immigrant settlement organization in your city-Taking part in a welcoming event-Donating clothing and other needed supplies to a family through United Way, the food bank or a religious  organization-Helping with education such as library programs that encourage literacy-Teaching your children to be welcoming and kind at lunch hour and recess to those who may be new-Do not participate in commentary that divides or labels any particular group*Statistics Canada, 2017