How one family of Syrian refugees is adjusting to their new life in Canada

One of the many obstacles facing new arrivals to Canada is the difficulty that comes with breaking through a language barrier.

This struggle is no different for refugees arriving from war-torn Syria, but with a little help from 21st century technology, one family is well on their way towards starting a brand new life.

“From Syria to Canada” is a video from Google that documents the transition of Syrian refugee Emad and his family to life in snowy Ontario.

Emad was forced to pack up and flee his home in the Daraa Province of Syria after a village close to his home was heavily bombed.

When he arrived, he knew nothing about life in Canada, including its languages, which presented quite a hurdle for his children Hamudi and Fateh once they arrived last December.

“The children, they’ve had some very painful experiences,” said Philomena Logel, one of the family’s sponsors.

“We want to overcome that initial fear that they won’t know how to communicate, because you want to fit in,” she said.

Jonathon Walker, principal at the school the children are enrolled in, agrees that being able to communicate is a key element in overcoming initial feelings of shyness and anxiety.

“The biggest thing that we run into when students come from another country is they’re going to struggle because they don’t have the language background,” he said.

That’s why educators have utilized Google Translate to help Hamudi and Fateh help understanding English. The technology helps ease the daunting task of learning a new language by easily translating text and audio into Arabic.

The two siblings can be seen in the video playing in the snow with confidence as they’re able to begin forming sentences and writing in English on their very own.

It may still be a long way to go before they’ll be completely fluent, but these initial steps have already helped Hamudi and Fateh adjust to their new surroundings.