Born at the border

Omar Alawasaje’s story of being invited by his Canadian sponsors to “go camping,” and his immediate and reactive response of “No!” led to general laughter in the group gathered at the “Torn from home: My life as a refugee” exhibit at the Waterloo Regional Museum in Kitchener this summer.

The display closed on Sept. 2, but before it did Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario used the location for a presentation about and by some of the Palestinian refugees resettled in Canada over the past three years. The event at which a number of the refugees told their stories was emceed by Alawasaje with the support from Moses Moini, MCC Ontario’s refugee program coordinator.

Torn from their homes in Palestine in 1948, and then from their refugee camp homes in 1967, some of them had moved to Iraq and Kuwait to live and work. But they were never allowed to become citizens in the countries through which they passed.

With the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq, they became personae non gratae in the countries in which they were living. In some cases, family members were killed by Shi’a Muslim militias, while, in others, they were only threatened.

Fleeing to the Iraq/Syria border, they hoped for refuge in urban Syria, but soon found themselves living in camps in the desert along the border. Officially “countryless,” they endured the summer’s heat; the winter’s punishing snow, which collapsed their tents; the flooding rains; a lack of medical support; and poisonous snakes.

The Government of Canada cleared a number of them for an immediate move to Canada. A local task force was set up in the Waterloo Region. Working with MCC, which has a sponsorship agreement with the government, local congregations from many denominations and several local mosques sponsored a number of families.

Khaled Abunasar, another former refugee, told the group, “I was born the day I arrived in Canada.” With immediate permanent residency and the potential to become a Canadian citizen after three years, he and many of the others emotionally reported their feelings of finally being treated as human beings when they arrived in Canada.

In the question-and-answer time that followed, Assam Alawasaje asked, “What can we do to thank our sponsors?” Ray Schlegel of Steinmann Mennonite, Baden, replied, “Keep in contact. Take the initiative.” Lester Kehl of Floradale Mennonite answered, “Become a citizen. Help form Canada.” Moini responded with, “Become a sponsor yourself.”

Issues still exist for some, as highly trained individuals have had trouble finding work in their fields until they pass English proficiency exams and get follow-up training in Canadian schools.