Carol Doening sent out this letter about the family that Qualicum Beach will be supporting.
Good Evening Everyone,
It is my pleasure to tell you that we have been matched with a refugee family! A list of families available for sponsorship under the Blended Visa Office Referral (BVOR) program was presented to the Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH's) yesterday. There were only 33 families on that list (the list went to 97 SAH's across Canada). Of those 33 only 7 families were from Syria, the rest were from a number of other countries.
The family we have been matched with are of Burmese Karen heritage and have been living as refugees in Thailand (likely in a refugee camp) for many years. The information we have received about the family is limited. What we do know is:
- The family consists of 3 adults (mother, father and grandmother) and 5 children (ages 14, 12, 10, 6 and 6).
- The language they speak is S'gaw, a dialect of the Karen language.
- All members of the family have minimal education and are illiterate.
- The family is "travel ready" which means that they have already passed all of their medical and security screenings.
The Karen people are an ethnic minority in Myanmar and have been brutally targeted for decades by the military regime in what some consider ethnic cleansing. It is estimated that up to 200,000 have fled through the jungles to Thailand over the past 30 years, where many continue to live in 9 "temporary" refugee camps. The family we have been matched with are “stateless” persons who have no citizenship in any country. They are considered “high urgency” for settlement by the UNHCR. The estimated timeframe for their arrival here is 4 - 12 weeks.
There can be no doubt that this family will need a lot of support, both financially and otherwise. We recognise the challenges we, and they, will face in terms of language and culture. Our commitment to this family will certainly go beyond a year, probably several years, though the type of support required will change over time. It's a big task, but we feel that the community of Qualicum will rally around and support this family in every way possible!
Good Evening Everyone,
It is my pleasure to tell you that we have been matched with a refugee family! A list of families available for sponsorship under the Blended Visa Office Referral (BVOR) program was presented to the Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH's) yesterday. There were only 33 families on that list (the list went to 97 SAH's across Canada). Of those 33 only 7 families were from Syria, the rest were from a number of other countries.
- The language they speak is S'gaw, a dialect of the Karen language.
- All members of the family have minimal education and are illiterate.
- The family is "travel ready" which means that they have already passed all of their medical and security screenings.
There can be no doubt that this family will need a lot of support, both financially and otherwise. We recognise the challenges we, and they, will face in terms of language and culture. Our commitment to this family will certainly go beyond a year, probably several years, though the type of support required will change over time. It's a big task, but we feel that the community of Qualicum will rally around and support this family in every way possible!
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