THUNDER BAY - A family who fled war-torn Syria and resettled in Thunder Bay said they are just as happy and excited to be in Canada a year later as they were the day they first arrived.
“We are so excited,” said Zaher Toubaji.
Zaher, his wife Nisreen, and daughters Hadeel and Sama, arrived in Thunder Bay last February. The family was privately sponsored by Redwood Park Church for $35,000.
After fleeing the civil war in their home country of Syria, the Toubaji’s ended up in Beirut, Lebanon, where they would stay for the next four years. Zaher and Nisreen could not legally work in Lebanon and Hadeel and Sama were not permitted to attend school.
“We were not doing anything in Lebanon,” Hadeel said. “We can’t study, we can’t work, we can’t do anything. Everything here is good for us. We can study, we can live here, we can do anything. In Lebanon we can’t.”
Hadeel, now 20-years-old, is studying English at Confederation College and working at her uncle’s restaurant, Kabab Village.
“Here I am studying,” Hadeel said of being in Canada. “I can do my dream. I can be with my family. Here everything is good for us.”
Hadeel’s 14-year-old sister, Sama, is a grade 9 student at Hammarskjold, where she is taking music, gym, technology, math, and science classes.
“My favourite subject is science,” Sama said. “I want to be a doctor.
“I like school here,” Sama continued. “It’s so different from Lebanon and Syria. In Syria, we can’t use our phone. The teachers are so nice here.”
When they touched down in Thunder Bay last year, the Toubaji’s were greeted by relatives from the Hatoum family, who have lived in Thunder Bay for more than 10 years.
Hadeel and Sama both said it was exciting and scary arriving in Canada, but after nearly a year, they have both made a lot of friends, get to go to school, and be with their family.
“It’s nice,” Sama said. “I like the weather but it’s too cold.”
“No, it’s not too cold!” Hadeel said.
The sponsorship from the Redwork Park Church will be ending this February, but the Toubaji family are not worried. Zaher and Nisreen are planning on opening their own restaurant in Port Arthur later this month with the help of the Hatoum family.
The restaurant on St. Paul Street will feature Middle Eastern and Lebanese cuisine including fattoush and shawarma.
While things are going well for the Toubaji’s, they are still waiting for their eldest daughter, Ghina, and her husband and newborn son to join them in Canada. Ghina is still in Lebanon and the rest of the family speak with her every day but have not seen her in more than 10 months.
“She is there with her husband and son,” Hadeel said. “We wish she could come. We don’t know when that might happen.”
For the Toubaji’s, seeing the continuous violence still taking place in Syria is heart breaking.
“It’s no good, it’s no good,” Zaher said. “We see it every day. Damascus is not good anymore.”
The Toubaji’s are among the 85 refugees settled in Thunder Bay. Zaher said being in Canada now is like a dream come true for the entire family and his gratitude can barely be contained.
“We want to say thank you everybody,” Zaher said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, all of Canada, everybody.”
