Syrian refugee privately sponsored to come to B.C. now making a difference in the north

It took a while to get used to, but the colder temperatures of northern B.C. don’t bother Hassan Al Kontar anymore.

With frost in his beard and the crunch of snow underfoot, he’s out for another stroll, continuing to experience his first true Canadian winter.

“It’s amazing because I used to live in the desert in one of the hottest spots on earth,” Al Kontar told Global’s This is BC.

For the past eight months he has been living in Fort St. John, enjoying everything the city and surrounding area has to offer.

“I love it when some Canadians call me and say, ‘You’re experiencing a part of Canada we never have before,'” he said. “It makes me feel special.”

You may remember Al Kontar’s story from 2018. He’s a Syrian refugee who spent seven months at a Malaysian airport followed by two months in detention, before being privately sponsored for asylum in Canada.

He was a barista when he first arrived, but working with the Canadian Red Cross turned out to be his true calling. It’s his way of giving back to the community and showing Canadians they were not wrong in giving him this chance.

“Because of them my life and maybe my family’s life will be changed forever,” Al Kontar said.

1:54 Happy ending in B.C. for stranded Syrian man

He has made many friends in Canada, but is still very much alone: his entire family is still in Syria.

Al Kontar hasn’t seen any of them in 14 years. They want to know everything about his new life and ask many questions about his new country.

“Yes they know everything about Tim Hortons,” he said with a smile. “They know everything about maple syrup.”

Al Kontar loves Canada, but not necessarily everything that comes with it

“The Canadian beer, I’m not a huge fan of,” Al Kontar said, with a hearty laugh. “I pretend I like maple syrup but I don’t actually.”

This past winter he has seen the northern lights and his first moose. These are the Canadian experiences he never could have imagined.

He holds out hope, as impossible as it may seem, that maybe one day his family will as well.

“Now I have a new dream, to bring my family one day to join me,” he said.

“And I dream about that. That one day I will wake up in the morning and be able to have a coffee with my mother or my siblings.”

To contact Jay Durant with a story idea for This is BC, email him details and contact information at thisisbc@globalnews.ca