Nova Scotia is home to thousands of refugees from all across the world, and Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS), has played a big part in welcoming them.
On April 4, for Refugee Rights Day, ISANS released a video they say tells the stories of those who have come to call Nova Scotia home.
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“Everything to me,” said one person, when asked what Canada meant to them.
“It’s my home.”
Nabiha Atallah, communications and outreach manager with ISANS said that they wanted to make it clear to those watching that a refugee, no matter their age, job or where they’re fleeing from, is someone who has been forced to leave their home.
“In our work we have found that people are most impacted when they hear an individual telling their own story,” Atallah said.
Due to the large number of Syrian Refugees who have been settling in the province, and in the rest of Canada, Atallah said ISANS felt it was important to release the video this year.
Refugee Rights Day is a day that marks the Singh decision made in 1985, which accorded the protection of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to those seeking refuge in Canada.
“Because of all the Syrian refugees who’ve come recently, we wanted to mark this day and remind people that refugees have rights in Canada,” Atallah said.
“These are our friends and neighbours and they’ve been through quite an experience, each one of them, even though it’s really different.”
She added they also wanted the video to “reaffirm the warm welcome” that ISANS, and the province, is offering to refugees.
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ISANS estimates they’ve resettled more than 7,000 refugees in the province in their more than 35 years of service.
Stallah said more videos are on the way which tell more about who the refugees are, why they left and how they felt when they arrived, among other aspects of their lives here.
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