Narrator: The Syrian conflict, already a major humanitarian disaster, continues to escalate,
and Canada has responded by opening its doors.
So far, 40,000 refugees have arrived here and there’s a lot of uncertainty as to how
they’ll adjust long term.
But this isn’t the first time we’ve been faced with an influx of refugees from a war-torn
nation, and the story of the so-called “Boat People” offers a clue into how this one
might end.
From Vietnam to Syria, this is Then Vs.
Now.
It’s been a little over a year since the first refugees have arrived, and for some,
it’s a critical time.
But the main barrier isn’t culture, or even employment opportunities.
Ibrahim Tonbari: The only problem is the language.
It’s delaying everything.
I’m really grateful to the government for providing for me.
But I really want to work and I don’t want to depend on the government.
Narrator: Whether it’s the government or private programs, the goal is the same: settling
refugees in a situation where they can stand on their own two feet.
Jim Estil: So what we’re trying to do is help people become productive members of society
so I will be disappointed, I will have failed if we bring people in, that they live off
of my charity for a year, and then go on Ontario works, or welfare, that’s not a success
for me and it’s not a success for Canada.
Narrator: A year is an incredibly short time for a person who has lost everything to completely
remake their life.
Still some people make quick progress:
Reporter: One of the lucky ones whose ESL classes have been going well, and he even
landed a job in a pastry kitchen, his passion back home.
Attam Al Kuntar: I was afraid that I will feel foreign here but from the first day I
didn’t feel this.”
Narrator: And for those who have yet to find their place, hope and opportunity remain.
Zainab Tonbari: Here it is better for my children.
They are going to school and they are learning.
Back there I used to watch other kids going to school.
I was so sad that mine were not.
Narrator: If anyone can understand the experience Zaina and her family are going through, it’s
a group that first arrived 40 years ago.
The fall of Saigon in 1975 led to a rush of people fleeing Vietnam, crowded aboard the
tiny fishing boats that gave them the name “Boat People”.
Turned back from Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, they ended up crammed into make-shift
refugee camps.
Canada responded.
Canadian Consular Official: We will accept your application to come to Canada.
We will send you to Toronto.
Reporter: By the end of 1980, Canada will have taken 60,000 refugees.
But a quarter of a million people are still lining up in Hong Kong and Malaysia, desperate
to salvage their lives.
And like the Syrian refugees today, the initial adjustment was hard.
Reporter: “At first the boat people had great difficulty adjusting to life in a colder
country where almost no one spoke their language.”
Reporter: A few blocks away, Fey Quon Mak lives with his wife and his four children
in a one-bedroom apartment.
In a basement.
An apartment they share with cockroaches.”
Reporter: Even if they were professionals in Vietnam, most of the refugees will start
as dishwashers, busboys, and low-paid factory workers.
In Saigon, Peter was a university professor.
In Montreal, he became a dishwasher, at $2.50 an hour.
Narrator: Then there was the additional challenge of moving on from a life spent in extreme
circumstances.
Dr. Sam Yuen: I think it’s difficult to assess the impact of the long years of war
in the home country, the hardship they went through during the escape, and the experience
from the refugee camp.
But I think all those factors add up.
Narrator: But as dire as circumstances were, some not only survived in Canada, they thrived.
Reporter: Peter Tranh bought his own restaurant, the Saigon Star in downtown Toronto, two months
ago.
Peter was one of the first boat people.
He and his family escaped vietnam in a small boat five years ago, just after Saigon fell
to the Viet Cong.
Narrator: Slowly but surely, families that had fled in terror found a life indistinguishable
from any other Canadian’s.
Joe Maclean: They both have jobs, and they have three children that are advancing through
the school system, and going on to university, in fact they can’t come here today because
they’re both doing overtime at their jobs.
Narrator: So, Syrian families seeking refuge here may face many obstacles...
But at least there’s a chance for a better life.