An informal session was held in Antigonish, N.S., Saturday to show newly arrived Syrian refugees how their homes change with the seasons.
Three refugee families attended the session at the Antigonish Library.
“The whole community is inviting us for supper and dinner and maybe sometimes breakfast, so they are integrating in the community rapidly more than I expected,” said Syrian refugee Tareq Hadhad.
Refugee Sponsorship Group hosted the session.
“I think the general consensus is, is that we've had cold weather but people have had warm hearts,” said Karin Fleuren with the group.
There is snow in Syria, but it's not as prolonged and intense as it usually is in Canada. It's one of the first thing the families noticed.
“They didn't expect this huge amount of snow, yes, so but they are enjoying shoveling,” said Hadhad.
The main goal was to show what the communities look like year-round – not just when they've covered with snow and ice.
“They'll get to see what summer looks like, and after trudging through the snow and slipping on the ice ... it'll be a little bit of a future outlook for them,” said Fleuren.
“I found so many pictures of our house in summer, it was beautiful,” said Hadhad. “They were shocked by how beautiful it was. The garden, and how the roads looked with trees and the bright green.”
Community members continue to work together to help refugee families, including Mohamed Amer, whose family came to Canada from Egypt more than 20 years ago.
“When we came here, it wasn't a war torn situation,” said Amer. “But just some of their struggles, you know, just going to a new country and not knowing anything. Not knowing the language. So in some ways, it's good to try and help them.”
Organizers say the families seem to have a pretty good idea about Canadian weather. However, there may be some confusion in about two week’s time when they learn Canadians rely on a groundhog to find out how long the winter season will be.
