Wow. I am beyond impressed. I am from a Muslim country and I have heard more than one person say that we may have Islam on our faces, but Westerners have Islam in their hearts. I can't even imagine the effort the Canadian sponsors put into resettling these families.<p>There is a very direct analogy to this in the early history of Islam: <a href="http://www.questionsonislam.com/article/brotherhood-established-between-migrants-and-ansar" rel="nofollow">http://www.questionsonislam.com/article/brotherhood-establis...</a> where the Muslims who fled persecution in Mecca were set up with sponsor families in Medina who helped them adapt and stand on their feet. To see that same behaviour in our purportedly selfish day and age warms me to a whole another level.
One thing really stands out here:<p>"with enough support, poor Muslims from rural Syria could adapt, belong and eventually prosper and contribute in Canada"<p>I'm fearful of allowing huge numbers of refuges into another country as the number of social problems could overwhelm the host country. But absolutely with enough support this could work. Not talking financial support, but as this article mentions people taking time to help these people adjust to the new country. I'm surprised in this modern age it happened. Community seems to be uncommon in the age of individualism. It's heart warming to see a counter example.
A few families and church groups in my Canadian network have adopted syrian families. It has been a truly positive experience to hear all the ways people are offering to help (food, shelter, jobs, transportation, socializing, childcare). And of course the handouts of delicious syrian food in return. On a trip to Halifax I bought some chocolates from a syrian business, and they later ended up on the news for their success.<p>This is the Canada that I love. And that positivity and love absolutely trickles down through your network of peers. It's about people helping people.<p>Does anyone else here have stories?<p>I hope one day that America starts a similar program to make amends for the awful effects of Trump's executive orders on immigrants, americans, and travellers stuck in limbo.<p>It occurs to me that many Americans are crowdsourcing for healthcare of their citizens, while Canadians are crowdsourcing to welcome new people to their communities. I don't mean to offend, but it seems like moving up maslow's hierarchy to me.
Great article. I wonder if something like this could be used in the US to help bridge the partisan divide on immigration. A deal where we reduce immigration but ask people to sponsor as some sort of civic duty. I think it might reduce anti-immigrant sentiment if Americans were in close contact with the struggles immigrants face. I also think a lot of the Trump voterbase feels that their culture is being wiped out by immigrants, a sponsor program may give them some feeling of control back.
I'm on the board of a Canadian refugee resettlement group. On Vancouver Island. We just received notification that our sponsored family, who fled Mosul, will be arriving this summer. We're well aware of the 13th month issue but we are working to ensure that they will be on their feet by that time. It's a risky endeavor, we have been well trained to prepare for as many eventualities as we can, and I think we are going into it with open eyes. It just seems the right thing to do and i am pleased Canada allows private sponsors. Of yeah, my mom was a refugee from communist Chinaand her parents were refugees from Russia. I figure i gotta pay it forward.
My family has "adopted" a Syrian family and I'm working with them to help them integrate in Canada (Toronto to be exact). The biggest challenge they face is the language barrier (although they are well educated). They barely speak any English. We don't know how long it will take them to be fluent in English, but they surely will not be employable within 1 year.<p>I met another newly arrived Syrian through them and that gentleman speaks perfect English and is an IT guy. He came here with several certifications (VMWare, PMP, MCSE, MCSD, etc). Settling down will be a relative walk in the park for him.<p>If anyone from Toronto is able to guide an IT guy with those certifications, please let me know.
Compared to the Swedish model where the government handles the whole process, I find the Canadian one really interesting. Many of the success stories I've read in Swedish media is from more rural places, small villages with ≈ 100 inhabitants, where the community have stepped in and tried to help in the ways they can. And on the other hand, the worst stories are from places where essentially no "native" swedes live and the circle of unemployment and low language skills etc is just perpetuated.<p>The swedish response have mostly been plans to place immigrants in more affluent neighbourhoods, which of course have caused NIMBY-outcries. I would be _really_ surprised to see the model mentioned in the article implemented in Sweden, but it would be interesting.
Keeping all our prejudices aside, it would make logical sense to settle these refugees in Arabic speaking countries. They won't have to struggle with language, customs and other infinite issues that come with being transplanted to a totally alien culture. Being closer to their home countries will also allow them to visit their relatives still in Syria and also for those relatives to visit them.
An enlightening read. I would like to offer my own definition for success.<p>Failure is easy to define, deviation from expected outcomes, suffering, etc.<p>Success is not the absence of failure. In this case success is a bright future with many options for the children. Success is integrating the children in to the culture of the new host country; this does not require forsaking their heritage, but it may mean becoming more or slightly different than it.
This method of immigration sounds a lot like what I imagine a 'halfway house' experience might be like. Only the only thing 'done wrong' was being born in to a bad situation.<p>A program that graduates through a series of steps and isn't chronologically based might be a better guide.<p>Though there are two sets of complications which also need to be examined. Counseling / emotional support, and providing empowerment to the adults.<p>The question of how to humanely handle the divide of family between a country that has a very low typical standard of living and one which is has both a higher typical standard of living and a higher /cost of survival/ is a difficult one; more difficult than I feel can be tackled even in a long comment. I'm not sure there is an easy answer for it.<p>An easier answer for empowerment is a good social safety net. Language classes for foreigners (general education), as well as skill assessment and training for possible jobs. These should be part of the standard social safety net of all societies, and lead directly in to targeted job placement (as a replacement for 'welfare' when a worker is not disabled or otherwise unfit).
It's great that this worked out. The article reminds me of something else that was on HN a while ago, and the discussion pointed out that the problem lies, at least in part, with refugees that <i>aren't</i> willing to integrate with the host culture. In this case, it appears they were willing.
This makes a lot of sense and it should really be more common procedure, regardless of whether immigrants are refugees or those just trying to start a new life in a different country.<p>Every country has its own set of cultural norms and these can be thought of as a protocol. When individuals don't perform on the same protocol, you get a tragedy of the commons effect. This is why I think multicultural societies often breed mistrust[0]. That's not to say that multiculturalism is at fault, only that individuals joining a new society may not be aware of the protocol (i.e. individuals can have more than one protocol).<p>An open society should embrace helping newcomers speak this new protocol, as it would benefit their society as a whole for all citizens and soon-to-be-citizens to understand what cultural norms unite that society and move it forward. Instead of isolating immigrants in ghettos and enclaves, it seems it would be beneficial to everyone if these new immigrants are sponsored by others citizens to help them assimilate faster rather than left alienated and neglected.<p>I understand this may not be a natural thing for us, since it seems we have a very tribal instinct. I think teaching integration and embracing/helping immigrants should be something taught at a very early age so its an accepted part of society.<p>0. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2007.00176.x/abstract;jsessionid=3D8FE906BBB77A4AADC4C5190D705FD6.f04t01" rel="nofollow">http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2007....</a>