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Your essential daily news | Wednesday, November 25, 2015
High -1°C/Low -9°C Sunny
Liz brown/metro toronto
Rick Eglinton/Torstar news service file
‘It’s part of who we are’ Syrian Refugees
in Canada
Nenshi says Calgary ready to welcome Syrians Brodie Thomas
Metro | Calgary
Melita’s Story Arrival in Canada, 1993.
New hometown of Oakville, Ont., 2015.
Metro’s Melita Kuburas arrived in Canada as a refugee
22 years ago. Today people ask her, Why the rush to bring in so many Syrians? — ‘As if anybody deserves to spend another night on a dirt floor.’ her full story in metronews
The plan is now in place to accept Syrian refugees to Calgary, and Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he keeps hearing from citizens who want to help. At a press conference Tuesday, he spelled out the three ways Calgarians can help: Sponsor a family, donate money or volunteer time. More details on how to do those things are online at calgary.ca/syria. Nenshi spoke about Calgary’s long tradition of bringing refugees into the city, noting it has been 60 years since Calgary
welcomed Hungarian refugees. “This is what we do,” said Nenshi. “It’s part of who we are as a people. It’s part of our tradition and I’m deeply proud to continue this tradition.” Calgary Catholic Immigration Society CEO Fariborz Birjandian said the society already settles about 1,000 refugees every year, so accepting 1,300 Syrians will not be a problem because networks are already in place. “We really are one of the cities that have a reputation as a good place to go for refugees,” he said. Nenshi said assisting people with mental health issues fleeing a war zone will be important, and formal assistance will be available. “In addition to formal mental health interventions, the most important mental health intervention we can do for these folks is to be welcoming,” said the mayor.
More coverage on pages 18-19 & 27