KELOWNA–A family of Syrian refugees will have a lot of support as they adjust to living in Kelowna.
Ilia Alajie, his wife Karla, 9-year-old son Lion, and 10-year-old daughter Raine were met by members of the Diocese of Nelson Refugee Committee when they touched down at YLW Friday night.
“The response from the larger community in Kelowna has been overwhelming,” says committee member Jeanette Atwell. “In the last three days I have answered 50 phone calls and e-mails. Everybody wants to be involved.”
Regarding the children, Atwell says “School District 23 is all ready to welcome them too. They have their classrooms all lined up and they will be doing English lessons at school and be put right into their peer group.”
She says the adults in the family will also take English lessons.
“By the end of the year they will be fully independent and integrated into Canadian society.”
Habitat for Humanity in Kelowna is providing a condo for the family to live in for one year.
The family fled Syria two years ago, and were staying in Beirut, Lebanon while they waited to be accepted into Canada.
Through a translator, Alajie said he told some of his friends his family was going to Kelowna, and they all told him “you are lucky.”
Keith Germaine with the Catholic Diocese of Nelson Refugee Committee says communication with the government regarding refugees has been lacking. He says they are expecting refugee families, but get very little notice about when they will actually arrive.
“Hopefully the government is going to get better at this. We understand why they are scrambling, but the lines of communication need to be improved a lot.”
Germaine says Karla Alajie’s sister’s family was supposed to arrive with them, but at the last minute, plans were changed.
“They’ve got all the stuff done so they could come tomorrow or two days from now, we don’t know.”
Comments