We were living in Damascus. We used to go to school.
We had a good life. We were safe.
We were very happy.
We lived in peace. We were settled.
We never cared about each other’s background,
whether Kurdish, Alawi, Sunni, or Shiite.
I was born in Jasem City, Daraa.
I studied at the University of Damascus for four years.
I studied English literature there.
I used to be a nurse at the children’s hospital in Damascus.
As for me, I worked as a chef.
(crowd shouting)
At the beginning, it was just minor trouble.
There were only demonstrations.
We didn’t expect things to escalate as they did.
(sounds of jet fighters, people shouting)
♪♪
For sure, I can never forget this day.
It was kind of funny, though:
when we left Jordan, it was 30 degrees plus Celsius.
When we arrived here after 13 hours,
it was minus 30 degrees Celsius.
I found it was a beautiful country where everything is available.
It is beautiful but very cold.
We arrived in winter.
At first, we had trouble coping with the time change.
We would wake up and it is still dark.
It was odd at the beginning but later we got used to it.
Hi!
Hello!
When I arrived here, and started dealing with people,
I said that they are welcoming us with an open house and warm hands.
They are trying to help as much as they can.
So what I noticed was that they are really a kind people.
♪♪
My wife gave birth to Shems in Qamishli.
She had cerebral palsy.
It affected her breathing and her lungs.
She was very ill, so I worked hard to provide for her treatment,
She didn't have sufficient medical care in Turkey.
Day by day, she was becoming weaker.
Then we moved to Canada. Thank God.
When we came here, we had her tested,
but the doctors said that her case was hopeless.
They took her to a suite and they told us she wouldn’t live long,
and that we should stay with her and take care of her.
We had planned to go there and stay for a while.
She died the next day, at night, in our arms.
♪♪
I have gone a long way in a short time.
When I started going to school, I became part of a new community.
I made new friends.
I feel I belong to this community.
I attended a daycare course.
I was given a certificate, and I can now work in that field.
I want to stand by my husband and children and motivate them…
to succeed in their work and studies.
Moving from one stage of your life to another,
you are bound to be optimistic and hopeful,
and determined to achieve something in the future.
You should not stand still.
You should look forward, not look back.
The circumstances that we have witnessed should motivate us
to do something about it, especially for the sake of our children,
who have been greatly affected by the crisis.
… in the first six months, without working as a volunteer,
I wouldn’t be engaged in the Canadian community because working as a volunteer
gave me the opportunity to be part of the society, to accept people,
to let them accept me, to share the ideas, to share the culture,
to understand what kind of people I am living in between,
so this is the first six months here in Canada.
Now, I am working as a settlement councillor
at the Somali Centre for Family Services.
And I started working there in July, 2016.
We are teaching them how to use these laptops,
how to use Windows, for example.
Because I have a job, I have income.
I do not need the government’s support.
My income is enough to cover my expenses
like rent and daily expenses like any household in Canada,
my car and anything else that a person may need here in Canada.
♪♪
When I walk in the street, no one asks me why I am wearing a hijab.
No one interferes with other people’s lives at all.
You see all sorts of people, but no one interferes with the other’s business.
This is one of the best things here.
♪♪
I work as a chef.
I work in the food and restaurant business, in both restaurant management and cooking.
I can cook all sorts of Arabic food,
from mezza to main dishes to some kinds of sweets.
I was working in the city of Damascus then I moved to Jordan,
after the incidents, and I worked in Amman for around five years.
Then we moved here to Canada, and thankfully I am doing the same thing.
It is fortunate that I could find a job in this domain,
so currently I am working in a restaurant, thank God.
This is our country now.
Our country is gone, so this is our country.
We are hardworking, active, and have a lot of potential.
When given the chance, we are skilled, and we love to work.
♪♪
They respect our cultures and they want us to save
and to keep our culture and even our Arabic language.
That’s why every Saturday and Sunday there are schools to teach the Arabic language.
♪♪
Repeat again, please. Can you read this one for me?
What's the activity?
♪♪
My newborn baby is the one who changed our lives.
She’s the best thing that happened to us here in Canada.
She’s a gift from God.
When I come home, I see her smiling.
It makes me so happy to see
how the government cares a lot for children and women.
(In English) Thank you, thank you, thank you very much in every people in Canada (sic).
(I am) very happy in Canada, me and family.
Canada is very good for people, for families.
I can have an education. My daughter can have an education.
She will have friends, and she will love Canada.
That’s what I like about my job that I’m earning money
and at the same time I’m paying taxes
so by the end of this six months I think I’ll be paying back
what they paid in the first six months.
♪♪
I would like to tell my Canadian brothers and friends a simple message:
What encouraged us to come to Canada is, first, the Canadian culture,
the culture of inclusion, respect for religious beliefs,
despite some of the incidents that have taken place.
This has proved the cultural diversity in Canada,
which is the secret behind Canada’s strength.
♪♪
When I first came here, I had a purpose and a goal that I want to fulfil,
which is to rebuild what I have lost in my previous life.
It's a very nice picture, Dad.
Thank God, we have really gone a long way.
They categorized us as one of the successful families in the country.
The kids are at school; we are working; we are going to school;
we are on the right track.
Our goal was and still is to move forward and never go backward.
A year ago, things were very different.
We are at a much better place right now.
♪♪
Being in Canada now and a year ago, so many things are different.
99 percent different.
There was the language barrier but thank God,
my husband and kids have improved a lot
in the language, also in so many things,
we have adapted now to the weather and the people and life.
It feels like home now.
It does not feel like we have left home and come here anymore.
♪♪
Look, Daddy, it says show and share.
My school is a very nice school.
I like it and the teacher and everybody, they teach me very good,
and my friends are very nice friends and they like me so much
and they are very, very good friends and I like my friends so much.
You can do everything you want.
You can do your goal, like, I want to be a doctor.
So, I can do it, I know I can do it – I’m in Canada.
♪♪