A local organization is raising funds to help a dozen Syrian newcomers leave war and poverty behind to start a new life in Alberta.
The Alabbas clan fled Syria's brutal civil war in 2014. The two couples, each with four children, currently live in desperate poverty on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon.
Judy Evans, chair of the Community Refugee Committee of St. Albert, said after nearly a decade of waiting the families have finally been granted permission to immigrate to Canada and are expected to arrive in March.
Once they arrive, Evans said, “they will live in Edmonton where they will be closer to family already living here and the services they need. Our mandate is to help them survive on their own without accessing the food bank.”
The committee has raised $75,000 for a one-year sponsorship. However, federal government guidelines have calculated the committee needs $81,600 to support the newcomers during their settlement and integration into the region.
The committee is still working to raise the remaining $6,600.
“We are very lucky that we have a generous sponsor who will match the amounts people donate.”
Currently, the families are forced to live in deplorable conditions in Beirut.
“Right now, the two families share a small apartment. There is no running water. There is a pot-belly stove in the middle of the apartment, but no fuel for heat. It is difficult to find food and they are all suffering from malnutrition, and they cannot afford medical services,” Evans said.
Their living conditions rapidly deteriorated after the massive 2020 ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut that destroyed Lebanon’s major port.
The blast killed over 200 people, cost $15 billion in property damage and left 300,000 homeless. Lebanon’s economy had been in shambles prior to the disaster, and the explosion plunged the country even deeper into crisis. Docked ships and silos were blown apart, causing massive food scarcity.
Evans said living in sub-poverty has taken a major toll on the physical health of both fathers and several children.
“One man has serious dental problems with all his teeth, and we’ve already made an appointment with a dentist. Another father and three children have eye problems.”
The statistics compiled by world organizations on the Syrian civil war are shocking – at least 13.2 million Syrians have been displaced and 6.7 million forced to flee the country as refugees. All required international humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations Refugee Agency has posted accounts of the economic and health crisis affecting Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Many families cope by begging, borrowing money from family, keeping children home from school, bypassing health care or not paying rent.
The agency also notes finding safe shelter is a struggle. More than 60 per cent of Syrian refugee families live in dangerous, substandard and overcrowded conditions where they face constant fear of eviction. Work is difficult to find; however, men take poorly paid or high-risk jobs to supplement a minimal United Nations allowance. As a result, refugee families largely depend on humanitarian assistance and the goodwill of wealthier countries.
Donors who would like to help the Alabbas families can send cheques to Community Refugee Committee of St. Albert at 78 Fawcett, St. Albert, T8N 1W3. Online donations can be conducted as e-transfers to [email protected].
