Nova Scotia village of 800 prepares to welcome family of 6 from Syria
The arrival of a family of Syrian refugees in Baddeck, N.S., this week is front page news — literally.
The entire front page of the Victoria Standard newspaper this week is a scenic photo of Baddeck Harbour with the word "welcome" in Arabic.
"We wanted just a simple gesture to welcome them to the community and let them know that we're excited to meet them," said Carolyn Barber, the newspaper's managing editor.
A long wait
It's been a long wait for the Esmaeel family and for the community.
The Syria to Baddeck committee formed in early 2016 and applied soon afterward to sponsor a refugee family.
"It seems like forever," said Donnell Beaton, who represents a local United Church congregation on the committee. "It's been a lot of pressure, a lot of government bureaucracy. A horrendous bureaucracy."
Beaton said the urgency for bringing Syrian refugees to Canada seemed to "dissipate" once the Trudeau government fulfilled its initial campaign promise of bringing in 25,000 refugees.
'An adrenaline rush'
"It seems that they had all their pictures taken and photo ops done, and went on to a new project."
But Beaton said his frustration has now turned to elation with the anticipated arrival of the family at Sydney Airport on Friday.
"We have an adrenaline rush and it's wonderful," said Beaton.
A fully furnished house awaits the family of six, which includes four children between the ages of four and 14.
Beaton said the cupboards are fully stocked, including a number of familiar spices and foods, recommended by the Esmaeels' relatives in Halifax.
"This family, they could eat for weeks, based on the food. And people still want to keep bringing food. Typical of Cape Bretoners, of course."
Community volunteering to help
Beaton added that many people in the area have volunteered to help the family get settled, including doctors and dentists who are offering their services.
At the Baddeck library, branch manager Kate Oland has gathered a number of books in Arabic and a few picture books to help the family learn English.
The library hosted an Arabic language session recently so people could learn a few basic phrases to greet the family.
"We know that they're eager to learn English, but we thought it would be polite and friendly to at least be able to say something like 'hello,' and 'we're sorry for the snow' and 'welcome to the community,'" said Oland.
In the village of 800, it's exciting to have a family of six move in, she said.
"We're hopeful that the welcome is going to be such that we'll have a new family that wants to stay forever and ever," said Oland. "We really need people, we need fresh perspectives."
But she said in the short term, the goal is to help the family feel safe and secure.
"The agenda really is to provide a safe haven for people to land and get on their feet."
