‘Dreams have come true’: Syrian refugee first of family to arrive, sponsored by South Osborne group
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His aunt, her family and friends tearfully welcomed Tarek Al Abdellah at the James Richardson International Airport on Tuesday.
Abdellah was the first member of three Syrian families being sponsored by the South Osborne Syrian Refugee Initiative (SOSRI) to arrive.
"He wants to thank Canada for allowing him to come here," Joseph Chaeban, his uncle, translated. "He wants to thank you all for your hard work and your support."
Abdellah spent the past four years in Lebanon after war forced him out of his Syrian home.
"He's very excited," Chaeban added. "He wants to help the people who helped him to get here."
The SOSRI raised about $100,000 through various fundraisers to sponsor the three families, which are all related to Chaeban's wife, Zainab Ali.
Someone presented Abdellah with a red Canada jacket, which he immediately donned.
"(It feels) very, very good, comfortable," he said through Chaeban.
Matthew Lawrence, a SOSRI co-founder, said he could not begin to imagine what Abdellah experienced.
"It's been horrible, being displaced and not having a house and being drawn into this conflict, and seeing your country ruined," Lawrence said. "At this point, they don't know where his father is and he's presumed deceased. Just mind-boggling what he's been through."
Chaeban was pumped about Abdellah's future here.
"It was his dream from four years ago to one day get out of Lebanon and come to a country of the free world, which is Canada today, and his dreams have come true," he said.
Tarek, 19, will live with Chaeban's family until the rest of his own family arrives within the next couple of months. Meanwhile, he will get a social insurance number, as well as health and dental insurance cards. He will also get warmer clothes and enrol in a school to learn to speak English.
The SOSRI, which has about 200 members, partnered with the Churchill Park United Church to raise the funds to sponsor the three refugee families after Chaeban and his wife appealed to them.
"Within a span of less than two months, we got close to $100,000, which surpassed our goal," said Lawrence, who is self-employed as a human resources consultant.
Their goal was to raise $30,000 to cover the costs of one family for a year.
"He wants to thank the United Church of Canada and the Osborne community for all your hard work because, without you guys, this never would have happened," Chaeban said.
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