Hoisted in the air, Samer Tabanjat, 6, Osoyoos’ newest resident, waves a newly acquired Canadian flag and wears a ball cap with “Canada” on it as he arrives at Penticton Airport close to midnight Friday. The boy, his parents and older sister are Syrian refugees sponsored by a community fundraising campaign to settle in Osoyoos. He is held by Ayman Kanaan, who previously came to Summerland from Syria. (Richard McGuire photo)
When the newest Osoyoos residents stepped off the plane in Penticton close to midnight on Friday, after three long days of travel from Syria, they expected to be met by a couple of people.
Mohamad Rabee Tabanjat, the father in a family of four Syrian refugees, had been given a card with the names and phone number of Michael and Vera Ryan, who he was told might meet them at the airport.
The Ryans are the co-ordinators of the Osoyoos Refugee Project, a community group that has been raising money to sponsor the family and help it to get established.
The family was among the last off the plane. As they walked through the doors into the terminal building, it took them a short moment to realize that more than 30 people holding welcome signs in English and Arabic were there for them.
Then it clicked when they read their names on a welcome sign in Arabic held up by Raouf Garram, an Osoyoos resident originally from Tunisia.
Several of the welcomers who spoke Arabic stepped forward to greet the family. Ayman Kanaan, from Summerland and originally from Syria, picked up little Samer, the six-year-old son, who was soon given a ball cap and a Canadian flag.
Mohamad, clearly moved like the rest of his family, waved greetings and expressed thanks to everyone there – as well as to the Government of Canada and the people of Osoyoos. With him also were his wife Aya and daughter Fatima, 8.
As the Osoyoos Times interviewed Mohamad during the bus ride to Osoyoos, local residents Sousan Najmeh, originally from Syria and Claire Hillier, originally from Lebanon, translated.
Asked how he felt to be welcomed at the airport by such a large group, Mohamad reached into his limited English vocabulary to try responding directly.
“Thank you very much,” he said, his voice showing emotion.
“They were very happy,” said Najmeh. “He really was overwhelmed because he didn’t expect that. He saw the love and care and he thanks you all from the bottom of his heart. He was told he needs to smile because he is going to be somewhere where he’ll be happy with his family. He didn’t expect that much happiness when he came to Osoyoos.”
The Tabanjats were also surprised and impressed to be met by so many local people speaking Arabic. In addition to Garram, Najmeh and Hillier from Osoyoos, and some of their family members, there were also families and individuals from Oliver and Summerland.
Suha al Khaled, a Palestinian-Canadian from Oliver, came out with her daughter Zenab and son Ahmed, who held up a banner at the airport.
Mohammad Al Lwisi, who arrived in Oliver from Syria in December, also came along.
The new arrivals shared contact information and embraces with their fellow Arabic speakers.
While the Osoyoos Refugee Project has had very basic information about the family since early November, the family only knew for a few days that their destination was Osoyoos. In fact, they were brushing up on French in the expectation that they would be going to Quebec.
The timing of their departure was also a surprise. At first they were told they would be leaving Beirut, Lebanon on Jan. 14, but last Monday they received a call telling them to be ready to leave the following day.
As they flew from Beirut to Amman, Jordan, then on to Montreal with a brief stop in Lisbon, Portugal, they got little sleep. And even one night spent in Montreal wasn’t restful.
Mohamad said the family knew since October that they would be coming to Canada when officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) informed them. Since then he’s been reading about Canada on the internet.
“Justin Trudeau, I love you,” he said in English, expressing gratitude for the welcome the recently elected Liberal federal government is extending to Syrian refugees.
While the arrival in Canada was a happy moment, it follows years of difficulty for the Tabanjat family.
Mohamad worked as a stone cutter in the north Syrian city of Aleppo, close to the Turkish border. In Aleppo, many houses are built with stone or concrete and the better off families decorate their houses with stones carved with floral and other decorative artwork.
Aleppo, however, became caught up in the civil war in July 2012 as various rebel and Sunni forces fought against the Syrian government, Hezbollah and Shiite forces. The Syrian army began indiscriminately dropping barrel bombs from helicopters, killing thousands of people and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
Mohamad first left on his own for Lebanon to find work, initially leaving his family behind. But the situation continued to deteriorate.
The family, like many others, was without water, electricity and food. So Mohamad returned to rescue his family and bring them to Lebanon.
They stayed in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley close to the Syrian border, where many other Syrian families fled to, putting a strain on local resources.
“It was a little better than living in Syria in some ways,” said Najmeh, interpreting for Mohamad. “There was no war there.”
The United Nations assisted the refugees with food. Mohamad found sporadic work and was able to rent a five-bedroom house into which five families moved, as his extended family also fled Syria.
“He wanted to be independent,” said Najmeh. “Their situation in Lebanon wasn’t that great because sometimes he didn’t have work and they didn’t have enough food and water, but it was a little better than Syria.”
The family spent three and a half years in Lebanon, struggling to get by, before finally having the chance to come to Canada. Although their extended family all made it out of Syria, they are leaving family behind in Lebanon.
Michael Ryan said he and his wife Vera were both very touched by the arrival of the family.
“It was just a wonderful feeling,” he said. “We felt quite moved. We came home and were saying ‘what a terrific feeling.’”
Ryan said he and Vera spent a couple hours with the family on Saturday along with Hillier answering questions about life in Canada. The family is eager to find work and get the children started in school, he said.
“They are a very thrifty and cost-conscious family and they wanted to know exactly what they could afford,” he said. “The kids seem to be eager to get going and the parents want to start (English) lessons and start looking for work. We said just relax for a little bit and let’s focus on the English lessons and getting a good grasp of the language.”
Mohamad keeps trying to use English phrases, Ryan said, and the children have been learning English songs.
Ryan reflected again on the mix of people from Osoyoos and elsewhere who came to the airport to welcome the family.
“With all the different people and different ethnic and cultural groups that were in the room, I thought wow, here we all were to welcome this new family. Isn’t this the way the world should work?” he said. “I guess that was my take-home emotion.”
When Mohamad was asked through Najmeh if he had anything to say to the people of Osoyoos, she replied for him: “He said he is deeply grateful. Thank you very much. Thank you for your love and care. Thanks to all, big and small. That’s what he said.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
More than 30 people from Osoyoos and other communities came to the airport in Penticton to welcome the arrival of a Syrian Refugee family, the Tabanjats, who have been sponsored to come to Osoyoos. They brought signs and banners in English and Arabic welcoming the family. The family was overwhelmed and kept expressing thanks. (Richard McGuire photo)
Mohamad Rabee Tabanjat waves as he realizes the large welcome party is meant for his family. With him are his wife Aya and behind are their children Fatima, 8, and son Samer, 6. (Richard McGuire photo)
Mohamad Rabee Tabanjat waves to the group that came to the airport to welcome his family as they arrived from the Middle East. They are greeted here by some of the local residents who came to Canada earlier from such Arabic-speaking countries as Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia. Claire Hillier, right, assisted with translation. (Richard McGuire photo)
Vera and Michael Ryan, right, greet Mohamad Rabee Tabanjat and his wife Aya. In front at left is their daughter Fatima, 8. (Richard McGuire photo)
