A Syrian family is reunited in Canada after many hardships

Talal is a 61-year-old Syrian man. He is the father of three children, two daughters and a son with Down’s syndrome. His family has resided in Canada since 2022, but faced a displacement and a family separation before being granted permanent asylum in this country.

Talal and his family are among the Syrians affected by the war in Syria. Here’s what he shared with JRS during his interview.

“The war in Syria started in 2011. We thought it wouldn’t last, and that everything would be like before… But when we saw that it was dragging on and wouldn’t end, we thought about going to Lebanon. As it’s so close, and I still had a job in Syria, my children and wife could live in Lebanon, while I could make the trip every week and come back to Lebanon for the weekend. We thought it would take a few more months maybe, but it lasted from 2011 until we left for Canada in 2022. So, it lasted 10 years…”, Talal tells JRS.

Life in Lebanon was a transitional stage for this family, but it was not without trials. Firstly, Talal had to sign papers forbidding him to work in Lebanon. He managed by working in Syria, but this was only a temporary solution. However, after a few years Syrians began to be persecuted more severely by the Lebanese.

“We couldn’t drive the car around if it had Syrian plates. As soon as they heard that our dialect was Syrian, it became a problem. There were even places where it was forbidden for Syrians to drive after 6.00 p.m.. It was posted in black and white:  ‘Syrians are forbidden to circulate from 6:00 PM in the evening until 6:00 AM in the morning,’ just like dogs!”

This climate of persecution motivated Talal’s family to apply for asylum in Canada. “Our friends had done this long before us. They managed to get their refugee status and within a few months, they had arrived in Canada. So, we applied in 2016.”

With the support of his cousin who lives in Canada and the support of the Jesuits, Talal’s family had an interview at the Canadian embassy in 2017. The family had the impression that everything was going well.

However, after several months of waiting, Talal received a letter that said his application had been denied. It was his, his wife’s and his son’s file. What was even more surprising was the fact that one of these daughters, who had been interviewed along with the rest of the family, had received a positive letter to come to Canada.

This situation didn’t make sense to Talal.

Fortunately, Talal had the support of his cousin in Canada, who spoke with the Member of Parliament for Laval about the issue. This support led to a favorable response and, after 6 months, the embassy rectified the result. Finally, the whole family was accepted to become asylum seekers in Canada. However, another ordeal was part of their story. They had to queue with everyone else, and during that time, the queue lasted over two years. Unfortunately, the global pandemic of 2019 to 2022 had delayed all the files.

Finally, the key moment had arrived.

“We got the phone call we’d been waiting for and our file was complete. The trip had been organized and would take place on August 10, 2022. I received the phone call on May 25, 2022. So, in 3 months, we tried to organize everything and we eventually got here.”

What happened to this family’s files?

“My cousin told me that according to the MP, our entire interview in the embassy was lost. Everything we said was lost, there was only one trace left, a letter that was sent by the person who had done the interview and that was addressed to the Canadian embassy in Dubai. It stated that the person in question had interviewed this family and was in favor of them moving to Canada.”

This letter also gave permission for the family members’ refugee VISA.

Talal’s daughters, aged 24 and 25, were the first to arrive in Canada. They moved into an apartment together. Four years later, Talal arrived with his wife and son in their own rented apartment with the help of their daughters. After all these hardships, the family was finally reunited in a safe country.

Today, Talal is fully integrated into Quebec’s society, and both he and his wife work. He is also a member of the refugee committee in which he gets involved on a monthly basis. His  son remains his greatest joy and priority. Thanks to paratransit, he is able to get around and attend an internship twice a week. Talal is always finding ways to involve him in numerous activities, and is delighted to be able to offer him better support than in Lebanon or Syria.

“Here, there are a lot of people who help us, the social workers, the Canadian government, he’s in a very good center. He’s also started an internship at the Casino, two days a week, and he’s doing very well there. So all that gives me a little hope that we’re on the right track.”

When they’re not working, Talal and his son spend time making chocolate at home. His son’s dreams are very close to his heart. Soon, he plans to buy him a little Chihuahua dog to keep him company.