While it is not their first white Christmas, this is the first Christmas Syrian refugee families will be spending in Canada.
Louay Ghassan and Safaa Alkhoury arrived in Cochrane on Valentine’s Day this year after fleeing their war-torn country with help from the Cochrane Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Group (CSRSG).
“The first four to five months were hard,” Ghassan explained.
When the newlyweds first arrived, they lived with other Syrian families at the Franciscan Retreat for the first couple of weeks before moving to their current apartment in Cochrane.
The couple explained that they were extremely “homesick” for the first four to five months and said it was difficult to find work while attending classes to learn one of the country’s official languages.
“When I first got here I had zero English, now I’m a level six,” Ghassan said with a smile.
Ghassan said that after he found a job, he started in the morning and worked throughout the day, and would go to Calgary at night to attend English classes. Both he and his wife are employed in town.
“Our first teacher was great, everybody helped us and I want to say thank you to the group for everything,” Ghassan said.
In previous interviews with the Eagle, Ghassan used a translator app to get his message across but he now proudly carries on a conversation without the app.
“We are happy here but we miss our family,” Ghassan said about the upcoming holidays. “We like it here, it is a great country (to live in) … maybe once there is full peace in Syria we will go for a visit.”
The situation in Syria has been going for the past four and a half years, starting in 2012 with anti-government protests that led into a civil war that is currently on going, as well as confrontations with ISIS forces. By August, the United Nations (UN) estimated that 250,000 Syrians had been killed in the conflict.
“I hope the war will be done in 2017,” Ghassan said.
According to the Government of Canada website, 37,402 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since Nov. 4, with 13 of those refugees calling Cochrane home.
“All the friends have been asking for us to go celebrate,” Ghassan said with a laugh.
The couple plans to have a quiet Christmas attending a Syrian Church for Christmas Mass on Saturday and celebrating with friends on Sunday.
“Thank you Canada and Cochrane,” Ghassan said.
“Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year,” Alkhoury said.
For more information on the CSRSG, go to the official Facebook page at Cochrane Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Group.
