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Alia's Voice: A Syrian Refugee in Canada
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Alia’s Voice is a warm, hopeful account of a real family, wrenched from their homeland and resettled in Southern Ontario. The title character arrives in 2016 with one word of English, knowing no one except her husband and children, and nothing about her new country. Three years later, encouraged by her new Canadian friends, she finds herself addressing a women's group in her new language, telling her life story, and why she loves her new country. This is her story.
I have stood with Syrian refugees trapped in frigid temperatures due to the sudden closure of Hungarian borders. I have met with Syrian refugees in Lebanon who face many restrictions because of their heritage. The displacement of people around the world, and the need to take flight from war and conflict, is a stain on humanity in general. The statistics are staggering and the politics so complex that many feel overwhelmed by the realities. Ann McRae’s book Alia’s Voice; A Syrian Refugee in Canada helps us to break through our immobilization as we learn of one sponsorship story. We are exposed to the courage, tenacity and resilience of a refugee family and, in particular, through the personal and cultural adjustments of the wife, Alia. McRae also exposes us to the voices of those who performed grassroots assistance in the sponsorship of this family, skillfully reminding us again that each of us can make a profound difference in the lives of others by simple, sensitive and steady acts of kindness. ---- reviewed by The Rev. Dr. Karen Horst, Moderator of the 141st General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in Canada
This book provides a well deserved tribute to immigration staff at the time of welcoming Syrian refugees. Indeed, so many Canadians pulled above their weight at this time - all the provincial governments that welcomed refugees so warmly, federal and provincial civil servants, immigrant sponsors, and all the settlement agencies, generally the best in the world, that worked incredibly hard to make everything come together. --- reviewed by the Hon. John MacCallum, formerly Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
In refugee law, we often see the worst of what people can do. Meeting Alia and her family, and the many others whose stories fill the pages of this remarkable book, is a much-needed reminder of the of the power of hope, resilience, courage, kindness and friendship. -- reviewed by Hilary Evans Cameron, Assistant Professor, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University Who can forget the heart-wrenching photo journalism of Alan Kurdi, a 2 year old Syrian boy, lying face-down in his death on a public beach in 2015? It produced global horror, lament and an outcry for justice.
In contrast, the responses of joy, intrigue and hope are evoked in Alia’s Voice , authored by Ann McRae. In response to this photo, truly ‘worth a thousand words’, Canada implemented a Sponsorship Program in 2015, and a further response was the sponsorship of Alia, Hussein and their four children by two churches in Clarkson, ON. Read this page-turner story of commitment, struggle, fear and determination, interspersed with engaging historical background, as Alia’s Voice invites us into the journey of sponsorship and the journey of new life from Syria to Canada, and becoming Canadian citizens in 2021.
This personal ‘story’ paints a larger picture that each one of us and all of us collectively can make a difference to mending the injustices of our country and world. --reviewed by the Very Rev. Dr. Marion Pardy, 37th Moderator, The United Church of Canada (2000-2003)
Alia’s Voice is a warm, hopeful account of a real family, wrenched from their homeland and resettled in Southern Ontario. The title character arrives in 2016 with one word of English, knowing no one except her husband and children, and nothing about her new country. Three years later, encouraged by her new Canadian friends, she finds herself addressing a women's group in her new language, telling her life story, and why she loves her new country. This is her story.
I have stood with Syrian refugees trapped in frigid temperatures due to the sudden closure of Hungarian borders. I have met with Syrian refugees in Lebanon who face many restrictions because of their heritage. The displacement of people around the world, and the need to take flight from war and conflict, is a stain on humanity in general. The statistics are staggering and the politics so complex that many feel overwhelmed by the realities. Ann McRae’s book Alia’s Voice; A Syrian Refugee in Canada helps us to break through our immobilization as we learn of one sponsorship story. We are exposed to the courage, tenacity and resilience of a refugee family and, in particular, through the personal and cultural adjustments of the wife, Alia. McRae also exposes us to the voices of those who performed grassroots assistance in the sponsorship of this family, skillfully reminding us again that each of us can make a profound difference in the lives of others by simple, sensitive and steady acts of kindness. ---- reviewed by The Rev. Dr. Karen Horst, Moderator of the 141st General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in Canada
This book provides a well deserved tribute to immigration staff at the time of welcoming Syrian refugees. Indeed, so many Canadians pulled above their weight at this time - all the provincial governments that welcomed refugees so warmly, federal and provincial civil servants, immigrant sponsors, and all the settlement agencies, generally the best in the world, that worked incredibly hard to make everything come together. --- reviewed by the Hon. John MacCallum, formerly Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
In refugee law, we often see the worst of what people can do. Meeting Alia and her family, and the many others whose stories fill the pages of this remarkable book, is a much-needed reminder of the of the power of hope, resilience, courage, kindness and friendship. -- reviewed by Hilary Evans Cameron, Assistant Professor, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University Who can forget the heart-wrenching photo journalism of Alan Kurdi, a 2 year old Syrian boy, lying face-down in his death on a public beach in 2015? It produced global horror, lament and an outcry for justice.
In contrast, the responses of joy, intrigue and hope are evoked in Alia’s Voice , authored by Ann McRae. In response to this photo, truly ‘worth a thousand words’, Canada implemented a Sponsorship Program in 2015, and a further response was the sponsorship of Alia, Hussein and their four children by two churches in Clarkson, ON. Read this page-turner story of commitment, struggle, fear and determination, interspersed with engaging historical background, as Alia’s Voice invites us into the journey of sponsorship and the journey of new life from Syria to Canada, and becoming Canadian citizens in 2021.
This personal ‘story’ paints a larger picture that each one of us and all of us collectively can make a difference to mending the injustices of our country and world. --reviewed by the Very Rev. Dr. Marion Pardy, 37th Moderator, The United Church of Canada (2000-2003)
176 pages, Paperback
Published May 3, 2023
About the author
Ann McRae
1 bookI am a retired lawyer living in Dundas, Ontario, Canada.
I have lived in Manitoba and in several cities in Ontario, and practiced law in these places: Crystal City MB, Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton, Burlington and Etobicoke (that's Toronto, to folk outside of the GTA).
I loved my professional work. I always did a little writing, as well. When it was sensible to change course, it was time for writing to take the front seat. That was in 2019. It has been a wild ride since then. I think there is a restful part to retirement, but I'm not there yet.
I have lived in Manitoba and in several cities in Ontario, and practiced law in these places: Crystal City MB, Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton, Burlington and Etobicoke (that's Toronto, to folk outside of the GTA).
I loved my professional work. I always did a little writing, as well. When it was sensible to change course, it was time for writing to take the front seat. That was in 2019. It has been a wild ride since then. I think there is a restful part to retirement, but I'm not there yet.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 17, 2023
I really enjoyed Alia's Voice. I appreciate Alia's courage in allowing her story to be told. As I read it I was following two stories. The first, of course, was Alia's journey but the second was the progression of the refugee sponsorship committee from providing necessities to facilitating Alia and her family to become independent and self sufficient. Other sponsorship committees should be reading this book. Wouldn't it be great if the government would make this book available in Arabic to families waiting to emigrate?
May 16, 2023
I didn't expect to enjoy reading Alia's Voice as much as I did. I picked it up because our church has been involved with refugee resettlement. It's not only informative , but engrossing. Before reading this book, I couldn't have found Syria on a map and had no understanding of the implications of the war from the perspective of a woman and her family. It's a must read for anyone who wants to know what it's like to leave everything you know and begin again in a completely foreign country that you know nothing about. It's interesting to view the Western world through Alia's perspective.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews