Would You Like Some Tea?

The first welcome! Omar and his family at the airport

A diminutive woman sits in a waiting room full of people all inspired to reach for the dream of Canada.  The little woman will know only her family, grandchildren, a son and daughter in law when she lands there.  Her way of life is gone but she has learned a new one these past four years that she can tolerate. The room is small for five people, the roof leaks-no the roof is non-existent but the plastic her son has fastened drains it so that only one side of the room gets wet now.  She is going for them you know, not for herself. At seventy years old she does not care to change her lot in life but her son dreams of great things for his family so she will go too.  He firmly believes Canada will give them opportunities they cannot have in Lebanon. Life is hard for a refugee here, they are not permitted to work and hopelessness permeates the temporary shelters and camps that house those who fled from the raging Syrian civil war.

A young man and his family sit beside her.  The children are beautiful. Two handsome boys and a sparkling little girl with enough personality for ten. This family is also going to Canada and their father's reasons are the same as that of her son's. He wants a home, a job, and most of all a future for his family. His wife is pretty, occupied with the children as they wait their appointments.

"Would you like some tea," The dad, Omar offers and the lady declines. Time passes and the  young man and family are called to their meeting. When they are done he sees the lady again and she also is finished, He offers to escort her home, again she declines. They're going to Canada if all goes well. 

They do not know where they will go in Canada until they get on that plane. When asked where he wishes to go, Omar says "Vancouver." He once had a friend go there, it's the only Canadian Place he has heard of.

The lady is told when she arrives in Toronto that her final destination is Winsor, Ontario, or as she understood, "Twinsor."

There are none of us born in this country who can understand the strength and bravery it takes to move to an entirely new country, clear across the world, where you cannot understand or speak the language and where you will know no other person save those who go with you.  That you go there because you have heard it has opportunity and freedom and a future. You go because you have no hope of these things where you are. We can never know but we must try to understand,

On Friday I met Omar again for the first time since welcoming him in at the airport.  He didn't go to Vancouver. That lucky man and his family ended up in Gander. And they're so happy about that I don't think they will leave for Vancouver anytime soon.  We had a long conversation that amazes me, partly because, in the course of a couple of months, he has learned English so well we are able to converse but mostly because I realize that, communication barrier broken, we have an exceptional new Canadian here in Gander.

This event, by the way, is a potluck for the second family who are now settled in Gander. The purpose is to welcome them and the committee members from Gander and some from Lewisporte are in attendance as well as a large number of the very important volunteers and the translator.

Omar tells me about his job, and how being at the cash and working at Luigi's has helped his English improve. He tells me an adorable anecdote about how his five year old daughter Raghad picked up English so quickly that she was telling them what to do and where to go, translating from the English to Arabic really early. The boys, too, are learning and his wife, too and will have much more time for lessons once the kids start school in a couple of weeks.

He also tells me that his driver's licence has been renewed in Canada and he has secured a car. You can see the delight in his eyes at this.  Men love their cars no matter their heritage.  Plus people like to support their own families and while the kindness of strangers is a blessing, the ability to provide and to give is a greater one.  This kind man will provide support and companionship for the new family.

There is a fuss in a little while. The translator from the Lewisporte Committee has arrived with Talika, the grandmother of the family moving there, The family has been delayed by bureaucracy but Grandma, as we all call her,  is here already settled into Lewisporte and waiting.  She's a delightful and funny lady, always up for a bit of sport and while she's worried about her family, she has taken up some quilting and is learning English also.

"I know her," Omar tells me, his eyes alight with his story.  Yes of course, there has been another gathering I have missed.

"No," he explains, his English remarkably unbroken,"I met her in Lebanon at the office where we go to apply to come to Canada, I offered her tea and a ride home. She said no.  When I saw her last time I said to my wife, that is the lady from the office and my wife asked her and yes, she remembers I brought her tea."

I question him? His English has really improved but surely I misunderstood.

No he assures me, it is true. They met in Lebanon prior to moving to Gander and Lewisporte.

There are 1,033, 513 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon,  30, 275 people have traveled to Canada and 18942 been processed but await final processing and travel.  hundreds of cities and towns are involved in aiding in their resettlement including Gander and Lewisporte. And these two people whose paths crossed that day now live less than an hour from each other clear across the planet.

We knew that Talika hadn't gone to Twinsor, Ontario.  We agreed to take her here with her family but she hadn't been informed of her destination until she was in Toronto.

I firmly believe that this coincidence is a sign that everything is going as it's meant to go even if it's not quite as we expected.

It is my firmest belief that Talika's family will arrive soon.  I watch her while she sits next to Omar's wife, her eyes light up as her children come up and speak, their bright eyes and animated faces delighting her grandmother's heart.

Meanwhile we also await Talal and his family from Turkey who have a travel date in late September. We are connected already through Facebook with him.

This is a big wide world with billions of people and it is easy to disconnect from a mass but at the simplest level, individual to individual we are all the same, all with the same needs and stories and always we make connections to each other at that level, some fleeting, some long lasting.

Omar was kind in his brief meeting with Talika.  He did not know he would ever see her again yet he was kind. There is lesson enough in that alone but the story of their brief meeting highlights that our interactions with others my not always be without purpose.

Plus, it is always reassuring to see a familiar face from home in a strange place.  As a Newfoundlander who spent time away I know all too well the value of that!

Enjoy your day,

Carolyn