INNISFAIL – Another Syrian refugee family will soon call Innisfail home.
News of Innisfail’s third Syrian refugee family came early Monday morning (Dec. 3) via email from the Embassy of Canada in Beruit, Lebanon that their application for a permanent resident visa in Canada was approved.
Innisfail has previously welcomed two other Syrian refugee families, in 2016 and 2018, with one since moving out of the community.
“That is great news,” said Kathy Calkins, member of the town's Welcoming Communities Committee. “They’re now approved and they’ll be contacted regarding travel arrangements by the IOM (International Organization for Migration).”
The process to bring Duaa Alhariri and her two young sons has been a long one, noted Calkins.
“It’s coming up to three years in January when we began our group (2016),” she said, noting the committee’s continued fundraising efforts throughout the process.
“We just finished our bake table that we had at the Christmas (Farmers) Market. It raised another $500 and I’m pretty sure there will be other fundraisers in the works in the new year.
“We haven’t formalized anything more but we will continue to fundraise (throughout the next few months) to make sure we’re in good shape,” she added.
Calkins broke the news to committee members via an email last Monday (Dec. 3).
“Great news! Received this (email) this morning. Now we wait for travel arrangements to be made,” Calkins told the committee. “Get ready to welcome our family!”
Additional information on those travel arrangements came in an email from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on Dec. 5.
It stated, “a permanent resident visa has now been issued for the above mentioned primary applicant and his/her accompanying family members. A request has been sent to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to proceed with final resettlement arrangements.”
They also specified a timeline for the family’s arrival.
“It is estimated that these persons will arrive in Canada within four to 10 weeks of the date of this notice.”
Calkins said they are eagerly awaiting the family of three, and will continue with the process, including preparing accommodations and other needed items.
“In early fall we did a whole list of what would we need to do, what things would need to be done and set up,” explained Calkins. “We did go through that and talk about that.
“Those are all things we’ll have to do once we know when (the date) she (and her children) are coming,” said Calkins.
Duaa Alhariri also has an aunt and several nieces and nephews living in Red Deer, she noted.
“We will be ready to welcome them whenever they come,” Calkins concluded.
