EDMONTON — Dozens of Edmontonians took to the steps of the Alberta legislature Tuesday evening to show their support for Syrian refugees.
“We’re here to mourn the many thousands of refugees who have died trying to come to safety, but also to address the problems and urge our governments to act,” said Merryn Edwards with the Refugees are Welcome in Edmonton group.
“We’re here to say that we want to welcome refugees.”
Refugee and migrant groups are calling on the Prime Minister and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander to answer for the deaths of two young Syrian brothers who died trying to get to Canada.
Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose lifeless body was photographed face down on the shore of a Turkish beach, his five-year-old brother, Ghalib Kurdi, and their mother, Rehan, died as they tried to reach Europe from Syria.
More than 234,000 people – an estimated 80 per cent of them Syrian – have arrived in Greece by boat so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration’s latest numbers.
Region-wide, some 350,000 people have tried to cross the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas to Europe; as of Sept. 1, at least 2,634 have died trying to make that journey, the IOM reported.
“There are a lot of people who are responding on a human level. I think for everybody to see the suffering we just instinctively respond as human beings,” said Edwards. “But also, refugees and immigrants are part of our country and have built our communities.”
READ MORE: World mourns drowned Syrian boy Alan Kurdi
Those at the rally Tuesday said it’s time for the government to take action.
“The federal government has a mandate and a responsibility for refugees,” said Edwards. “Citizenship and Immigration Canada, it came out that they have an emergency plan that was written for just these kinds of humanitarian crises and it’s not being enacted. It needs the order from the Prime Minister to go ahead and so far that hasn’t come.
“That’s frustrating for those of us who would like to see action quickly.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Alberta government announced it would contribute up to $250,000 to support Syrian relief efforts.
Also Tuesday, the University of Alberta announced plans to help students dealing with the conflict in Syria. The President’s Award for Refugees and Displaced Persons will cover tuition and living costs for up to 10 undergraduate or graduate Syrian students, admitted to the U of A as early as January 2016.
With files from Nick Logan, Global News.