Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 26, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B4 B 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015 CITY winnipegfreepress. com Craig and Marc Kielburger Craig and Marc Kielburger co- founded Free The Children and are authors of the new book, Living Me to We: The Guide for Socially Conscious Canadians. metowe. com/ living A long, burdensome road for Syrian refugees and their Canadian sponsors Militias set fire to homes with families still inside. From her safe refuge here in Canada, Dahlia heard the horrific reports and knew she had to get her family out of Syria. But to sponsor them as refugees in Canada would take an agonizing 18 months of bureaucracy and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Dahlia's ordeal raises the question, Are the demands of sponsorship too great for Canadians to bear? More than 3.8 million people have fled Syria since conflict erupted in 2011 in what is now considered the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time. Canada has opened its doors to 1,275 Syrian refugees, and recently promised space for 10,000 more. But immense challenges face both the refugees who desperately want to start a new life here, and Canadians, like Dahlia, who want to help them. We were surprised to learn that 60 per cent of the new Syrian refugees will have to be supported, not by the government, but entirely by private Canadian sponsors, such as church groups. Dahlia ( her name has been changed to protect her family) is an Arabic teacher who immigrated to Canada with her husband more than 10 years ago. Her parents and many siblings with their families Palestinians living for decades in exile in Syria stayed behind in a suburb of Syria's capital, Damascus. As that city became a war zone, Dahlia looked for a way to get her family to safety. Most of Dahlia's family escaped into refugee camps in neighbouring Lebanon. There, they applied for refugee status in Canada. With few spots for government- sponsored refugees, Dahlia sought in vain for a group to sponsor her family under the Canadian private sponsorship of refugees program. This program allows groups such as churches or community service organizations to sponsor refugees to Canada. But there is no publicly available directory to help people like Dahlia find accredited organizations. The program does allow five or more Canadian citizens to come together and start their own group. So Dahlia found sympathetic people in her community of Hamilton, Ont. willing to join her in becoming sponsors. Even with a sponsor, it took Dahlia's 13 family members 18 months to get through the bureaucracy- laden process of interviews and medical tests before they were allowed to come to Canada. The challenges for both sponsors and refugees were far from over. Canadian sponsors must take responsibility for all the refugee's expenses for up to a year. The Canadian Council for Refugees told us that $ 25,000 is a reasonable estimate to support a refugee family. But since the Canadian government slashed healthcare coverage for refugees in 2012, the bill can skyrocket if a refugee arrives needing any medical care. Dahlia has covered costs through donations of money, and goods such as furniture and clothing, from her community and local churches and mosques. When her family's first apartment was infested with bedbugs, she had to replace all their furniture. That isn't her only challenge. As a sponsor, Dahlia must hold her family's hands through every stage of settling in, such as finding a home, enrolling kids in school and learning the language. None of Dahlia's family speaks English. Fortunately, Dahlia can be there to speak for them most of the time. Other Canadian sponsors who do not speak their refugee's language hire interpreters to help. Her family is slowly settling in, but Dahlia frets about her two brothers who still haven't made it here. One is stuck in Syria. The other is in Lebanon, desperately finishing his refugee application, fearing police there could deport him to Syria at any moment. Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, told us her organization is concerned the Canadian government is increasingly downloading the responsibility and cost of helping refugees onto private Canadian sponsors. This, Dench says, will deter more Canadians from becoming sponsors. Canada has a global reputation for generosity and compassion toward people in need. We are that clich� land of immigrants and refugees. Thirty- five years ago we became home for almost 50,000 Vietnamese refugees, the boat people who have since enriched our nation. We don't want to see that legacy fade into history. Brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger founded a platform for social change that includes the international charity, Free The Children, the social enterprise, Me to We, and the youth empowerment movement, We Day. by: Craig and Marc Kielburger PHONE 204- 256- 7203 TOLL FREE 1- 855- 256- 7203 TICKETS 1 for $ 100 | 3 for $ 200 | 5 for $ 300 | 9 for $ 500 TICKETS IN PERSON AT 1 for $ 10 | 6 for $ 25 | 20 for $ 50 St- VitalMall ( FOODSTORE) License No. LGA1517RF .. ...... ................ .......... ...... .................... .... ...... ................................................ .. .... ...... .......... .... .... .................... ........................ ...... ............ ........ ........ .............. .............. ............ .......... ...... .................... ........ .......... .............. .................. DON'T MISS THE VIP ULTIMATE BONUS DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY! NEW! CASH OPTIONS ON EVERY PRIZE! 3 0 0 7 GRAND PRIZE CHOICES! 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Technology now exists that will offer desperately needed relief to many who suffer from this terrible affliction. Do you suffer from ringing in the ears? February 9- 13 You're invited to join us and meet our leading Tinnitus expert, Patrick DeWarle, Doctor of Audiology. Patrick will conduct one on one demonstrations of this revolutionary new technology. To book your appointment, call us at 204- 832- 2294 West Winnipeg 3286 Portage Avenue ( At Westwood Drive) If transportation is a problem, let us know and our Customer Care Shuttle will come and pick you up. W INNIPEG'S first homicide of 2015 is still being investigated by city police. Dustin McKay, 22, was taken to hospital late Friday in critical condition, where he later died. " We said that interviews were ongoing," said police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen Sunday. " That would mean we had people in our custody and it could be people as witnesses." He reported no arrests or charges Sunday. Autopsy results are pending. So far, police have only said the homicide involved a vehicle and a victim in the roadway. Although police didn't identify the victim, relatives identified him as Mc- Kay, a former student at Gordon Bell High School. The final entry on a Facebook page identified as belonging to McKay shows an updated profile photo posted Friday afternoon. It's not clear if McKay died as a result of being struck by a vehicle. Nobody approached in the Centennial neighbourhood Sunday could hazard a guess on whether McKay met his death as a result of being hit by a vehicle. Police arrived at the scene in the area of Isabel Street and Pacific Avenue at about 11: 20 p. m. Friday. A block of Isabel was cordoned off between Pacific and Logan avenues through the night. On Saturday, people who live in the area said there was a commotion at the scene before emergency crews arrived. " My sister went out for a smoke and she heard a lot of yelling on the corner," said a man who lives nearby. The man walked to the convenience store at the Husky gas station on the corner and was told by other bystanders a man had been hit by a vehicle. A story going around at the scene was the victim may have been pushed or dragged into oncoming traffic. Customers at Husky and the clerks on duty would only say they'd heard about the homicide. It was the same at the Freight House Community Centre, which is the main landmark in the area dominated by low- rent and subsidized housing. - staff Few details regarding first homicide of 2015 MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS People at the Freight House weren't talking about the death of Dustin McKay ( left). B_ 04_ Jan- 26- 15_ FP_ 01. indd B4 1/ 25/ 15 8: 46: 45 PM ;