Syria refugees success in Windsor

By Christina Chibani

Syrian refugees are adapting to their new homes and lifestyle with the help of programs the City of Windsor is offering.

With institutions such as the Multicultural Council of Windsor Essex County, the Syrian refugees are given opportunities to learn English.

“Windsor is one of 36 cities across Canada where government-assisted refugees are destined, from November 2015, when the federal government announced that Canada was going to be resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees until end of September 2016,” said Marcela Diaz. “Windsor has received 710 Syrian refugees, of which 413 are children.”

Diaz, Multicultural Council of Windsor resettlement assistance program manager, greets the Syrian refugees at the airport when they arrive in Windsor.

“Besides the Windsor Resettlement Assistance Program, the MCC also has the Client Support Services program and an Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada funded program which is unique in Ontario,” said Diaz.

Majid Bittar is a 25-year-old Syrian refugee who is  a student of the MCC and working as a chef at Kabobgy, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Windsor.

“I love Windsor because it has given me many opportunities to be successful and to learn,” said Bittar. “I am happy to be working and helping to support my family. The government does not give me any money because I was sponsored by my family living in Windsor,” said Bittar.

Bittar lives on the $8,000 per year in sponsor money from his uncle and his paycheque weekly as a chef.

New arrival Marven Zaya is a 21-year-old student at Catholic Central High School who was sponsored to come to Canada by his uncle.

“School here is easier than in Syria, I like it a lot,” said Zaya.

His father used to be a nurse in Syria and is now painting houses as a source of income to support his family.

“We are working as much as we can as a family to support each other and to live a good life here,” said Zaya.

His family receives support from the government such as social assistance because of their low income.

As more Syrian refugees are welcomed into Windsor, their success is not only based on government help, but institutions such as MCC making learning easier.