In the fall of 2015, Syrian refugees were all over the news.
A civil war in that country had been raging since early 2011 when protests against Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad were violently suppressed and various rebel factions sprang up to oppose the government.
By 2015, the so-called Islamic State, extremists also known as ISIL, ISIS or Daesh, controlled large parts of the country.
Many civilians fled the fighting, risking their lives at sea to escape to Europe. Some crossed into Lebanon, a country now swollen with refugees.
It was only when news photographs showed the body of three-year-old refugee Alan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish shore in September 2015 that Canadians really began paying attention.
Kurdi’s family was bound for Canada, where they had relatives.
It was in the midst of a federal election when the soon-to-be-gone Conservative government of Stephen Harper tried to stir up xenophobic sentiment by announcing a “barbaric cultural practices” snitch line.
At the same time, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was making an ambitious (overly, it turned out) election promise to bring more than 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year.
The Kurdi drowning photos seemed to tip public opinion as many Canadians opened their hearts to Syrian refugees, rejecting attempts to stir up fears.
Here in Osoyoos, former town councillor Michael Ryan and his wife Vera began spearheading a project through St. Anne’s Catholic Parish to bring a refugee family to Osoyoos.
Soon the non-denominational Osoyoos Refugee Project was organizing to raise funds and volunteers in the community.
They set a target of $30,000 to help support the family in their first year, and soon that target was exceeded as there was an outpouring of generosity from the Osoyoos community.
The group found a house. Now all they needed was a family. Only at the last minute did they learn that the Tabanjat Karbouj family would be arriving imminently in Penticton.
Mohamad Rabee Tabanjat, his wife Aya, and their two children Fatima and Samer arrived close to midnight at Penticton on a freezing Jan. 15, 2016. They were welcomed by dozens of people from Osoyoos and elsewhere in the Okanagan.
In the months that followed, the family settled in, began an immersion into the English language and Canadian culture and the children adjusted to school.
Along the way, volunteers from the community helped to teach them English, interpret for them and help them with errands until Mohamad got a car and driver’s license last year.
It wasn’t without challenges, but Mohamad was eager to find work and all the family devoted many hours to learning English and adapting to a way of life very different from the one they left in war-torn Aleppo.
Next week the family begins a new phase of their lives, moving to Penticton, where they’ll be closer to services they need and to others who share their background.
Nobody chooses to become a refugee, but many make the best of it and go one to contribute to Canada.
We wish the Tabanjat Karbouj family the best of success in their next chapter.
The Ryans and all the other many volunteers can be proud that they made a difference and helped to show Osoyoos and Canada at their best.
