As the first planeloads of Syrian refugees arrive in Canada, schools across the Maritimes are preparing to welcome new students from the war-torn country.
Hundreds of students at St. Malachy’s Memorial High School in Saint John spent Wednesday making a welcome banner and listening to some of their peers share their own stories about life as a refugee and their journey to Canada.
“Some of their stories are similar to ours, so it makes us feel that we are not alone in this country or in this school,” says Congolese refugee Aliciah Mazimpaka.
Some students say their experience of befriending refugees has been an eye-opening one.
“They are extremely good citizens. They work twice as hard as any Canadian students to do well in school, to get educated, to learn the language and the culture, and honestly, they’re probably some of my best friends now,” says Grade 11 student Michaela Matheson.
The YMCA in Saint John is also preparing to help settle hundreds of refugees.
“We are going to get young refugees in who are going to help place in the school system, and so, befriend them, make them feel welcome, help them understand the system because it’s all new to them,” says Shilo Boucher, CEO of the Greater Saint John YMCA.
The students admit some of their peers are less enthusiastic about Canada taking in thousands of Syrian refugees, but Grade 11 student Sean O’Brien thinks that will change once they arrive.
“If the students are opposed to it, it’s a matter of ignorance of the situation more than a well-founded opposition to it, and I think we just need to educate them and that opinion tends to reverse,” he says.
The federal government announced Tuesday that refugee resettlement agencies, such as the Greater Saint John YMCA, will be getting an increase in their funding to match their soon-to-be-increasing responsibilities.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
