Today was the day we have been waiting for so long! After a sleepless night, a very tense and excited Anas went with 9 of our group members to Pearson Airport, where the rest of the family landed early in the morning on a plane from Beirut, via Cairo.
Everything went smoothly, and we were relieved that Oais' scooter arrived in one piece. Seeing the Abdallahs was like meeting old friends - partly because we had already been in touch via social media for 10 days - and there were smiles, hugs and a flurry of Arabic and English greetings all around. Anas' incredibly cute nieces Aya and Reemas kept on shouting 'I love you' and charmed all of us. We all felt quite emotional and teary-eyed.
The family members are now in their newly furnished apartments to take a rest and start the first day of their new lives in Canada. After losing everything in Syria and living in dire conditions in Lebanon as refugees for several years, they will finally live in a safe place they can call their own. The family's life has been changed forever - but so have our lives, in more ways than we could have imagined. The arrival is not the end of the journey, it's a beginning.
To see more photos of the family's arrival, please click on this link
The emotional reunion of the family was captured by a camera team of the CBC's The National
Everything went smoothly, and we were relieved that Oais' scooter arrived in one piece. Seeing the Abdallahs was like meeting old friends - partly because we had already been in touch via social media for 10 days - and there were smiles, hugs and a flurry of Arabic and English greetings all around. Anas' incredibly cute nieces Aya and Reemas kept on shouting 'I love you' and charmed all of us. We all felt quite emotional and teary-eyed.
The family members are now in their newly furnished apartments to take a rest and start the first day of their new lives in Canada. After losing everything in Syria and living in dire conditions in Lebanon as refugees for several years, they will finally live in a safe place they can call their own. The family's life has been changed forever - but so have our lives, in more ways than we could have imagined. The arrival is not the end of the journey, it's a beginning.
To see more photos of the family's arrival, please click on this link
The emotional reunion of the family was captured by a camera team of the CBC's The National
Congratulations on such great love and commitment. All the best in the resettlement and thank you for sharing your joy
ReplyDeleteI love following everything you're doing. Thanks for making the time to write these posts and update us all!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda and Rachel, thanks so much for your nice comments!
ReplyDeleteYour humanity shines brightly. You are a fine example for all to follow. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteI meet the family today. What a great experience to have them around and be able to help them out to settle in Canada
ReplyDeleteI had the chance to meet the family this morning and was able to help them in some Adm stuff. What a nice experience. Thanks to the ripple project to give me this chance.
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