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Volunteers who supported Syrian refugees reconnecting to help Afghan newcomers to Canada


TORONTO — Volunteers who helped Syrian refugees settle in Canada six years in the past are coming collectively as soon as extra to assist Afghans who’ve not too long ago arrived within the nation.

Their efforts — which vary from securing weather-appropriate clothes to serving to the newcomers entry medical companies — are anticipated to ramp up because the federal authorities delivers on its dedication to settle 40,000 Afghan refugees.

Wendy Cukier, who beforehand based a gaggle to assist Syrian refugees, mentioned she was inundated with inquiries because the Taliban took management of Afghanistan this summer season.

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“We began getting calls from folks saying, ‘What are you going to do?’ … As a result of we had, you realize, carried out the work earlier than,” she mentioned in an interview.

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“I reconnected with among the founders of the work we did round Syria … basically what we’re making an attempt to do is match folks, notably Afghan refugees, with assets that they want.”

Canada has welcomed greater than 2,500 Afghan refugees because the Taliban took over, based on authorities statistics. Cukier and different volunteers at the moment are awaiting authorities particulars on how a non-public sponsorship program for hundreds extra will work.

Within the meantime, volunteers are targeted on serving to Afghan newcomers who’ve made it to Canada.

Cukier co-founded a gaggle referred to as Lifeline Afghanistan to arrange the efforts of those that need to assist Afghan refugees within the Larger Toronto Space. The group has been fundraising and accumulating donations whereas making ready to increase its efforts sooner or later.

Learn extra:
Afghan refugees grateful to settle into ‘bright future’ in Calgary

Simply final week, Cukier mentioned she helped accumulate sneakers for a gaggle that arrived with footwear unsuitable for the cooler climate.

“I mentioned I would like 50 folks to present me 10 pairs of sneakers as a result of there are 1,000 folks on the airport, most of them have slippers and sandals. By Monday, I had 600 sneakers, and now I’m sitting with one other 600 in my lounge,” mentioned Cukier, who can be a professor at Toronto’s Ryerson College.

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Syrian refugees who had been as soon as helped by teams like Cukier’s are additionally amongst these volunteering to assist Afghan newcomers.

Rani Ibrahim, who turned a Canadian citizen final yr after arriving as a Syrian refugee 4 years in the past, is working with the New Canadian Centre in Peterborough, Ont., to assist 9 Afghan households within the space.

“After I first got here to Canada, different folks, they welcomed me, they invited me to be a member of their group they usually helped me. And once I do the identical for various refugees, I really feel like I actually began to belong to this group,” he mentioned.

“That makes me really feel higher. After I assist an Afghan household, I truly really feel like I’m serving to myself on the identical time.”


Click to play video: 'Afghan interpreter begs Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to speed up processing'







Afghan interpreter begs Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to hurry up processing


Afghan interpreter begs Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to hurry up processing – Oct 1, 2021

Mona Elshayal, co-founder of a volunteer group referred to as Canadian Connections, has additionally been serving to Afghan newcomers after providing related helps to Syrian refugees.

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Her group is presently supporting Afghan interpreters who labored with Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. She’s mentioned she’s been serving to refugees staying in accommodations entry medical companies and navigate the necessities of settling in Canada.

“They (normally) have medical checks, biometrics and people sort of issues taken care of of their residence nation or wherever they had been coming from,” she mentioned.

“That didn’t occur and there’s been folks within the accommodations for fairly a very long time. They haven’t had something carried out, they don’t know what’s taking place, what’s subsequent.”

Stephen Watt, the co-founder of Northern Lights Canada, a non-profit that’s been serving to Afghan refugees in Toronto, mentioned some newcomers have additionally confronted points with facilities in accommodations the place they’re quarantining.

“They got meals that was actually, actually atrociously unhealthy,” he mentioned. “They got trays, steel trays of chilly pasta, which they couldn’t warmth up within the microwave, so that they had been utilizing a clothes iron to warmth their chilly pasta.”

Learn extra:
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Watt, who additionally labored with Syrian refugees, mentioned the federal government wants to deal with the challenges confronted by the primary wave of Afghan refugees to raised serve the teams anticipated within the coming months.

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Cukier mentioned the federal authorities ought to apply a lot of the identical standards it used for Syrian refugees to the Afghans it plans to herald.

That features contemplating any Afghan exterior Afghanistan to be a refugee no matter whether or not they’re registered with the United Nations refugee company, and stress-free necessities round documentation to account for the fact that many might not have passports or might have misplaced vital paperwork, she mentioned.

The federal government also needs to permit personal sponsors to sponsor Afghans from inside Afghanistan and make it simpler for Afghans to use for work permits and pupil visas, she added.

Learn extra:
Afghan refugees to arrive in Canada in ‘days or weeks’ as feds help 145 flee to Pakistan

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino mentioned the federal government remains to be understanding the small print of its resettlement efforts for Afghan refugees however famous they may largely be people who’ve already left Afghanistan and are in different nations.

“We’re working with the referral companions proper now to determine among the standards,” Alexander Cohen mentioned.

“We’re going to concentrate on focused minorities, so what neighbouring nations has a bigger inhabitants of those who have fled there? … There’s additionally, the place do we’ve capability? The power of Canada to have consular companies is totally different in locations like Pakistan from locations like Iran.”

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The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American army forces ended 20 years of western army and political engagement with the nation.




© 2021 The Canadian Press





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