A family of three that fled Iraq in mortal fear have found a home in Prince George. In about three weeks they will arrive and take their first steps into democratic freedom.
A team of local volunteers cleared the path to host the refugees fleeing the violence of the Middle East. It took a lot of paperwork and planning, but that large (and growing) association of people is thrilled with anticipation of the young family now on their way.
"This is a young couple - he is 29, she is 26 - with a son almost 4 years old," said Sergio Petrucci, one of the many local volunteers involved. "They are from Iraq. They both have university degrees. They have been described to us as workaholics ready and willing to make the most of their new life in Canada."
The reason they had to flee was the man's profession, which was shared by one of his brothers: journalism. Their writings made them targets for murder, and when the threats extended to their families, there was little choice but to run.
Their first stop was Jordan, but that country is calling on international support to move the millions of displaced people in the region. Canada's government has been criticized for accepting too few of those desperate people, but this family made it through the bureaucracy from that end while the Prince George host contingent made it through from the other end of the same bureaucracy.
According to Petrucci, he was one of a handful of people involved in a conversation about helping out with this international need. It was a chat at church that got it going, but it soon amplified.
They quickly learned that in order to qualify as a refugee host group, they had to get through a lot of policy obstacles or, better yet, link with a pre-approved group that had already gotten the credentials. Being an ad hoc group of Catholics, they had a direct inroad to the Archdiocese of Vancouver, veterans of refugee intake.
The local group grew to more than two dozen people - not all of them Catholic, since the original organizers put the need to help at the forefront of their plans - and carried out the prerequisites.
The main concern of the government was ensuring the host group could look after the hypothetical refugees for a year. The government has a program whereby it will help for six months, but a solid one-year plan has to be in place in order to qualify as a host.
"It took some time and some work, but we are ready," said Petrucci. "Once we got through the initial stuff, it was actually a really fast process."
Before the trio from Iraq arrives, personal contacts have to be in place so they can smoothly obtain B.C. documentation like medical coverage and photo identification and bank accounts, have translation services in place so they are supported through the search for jobs and travails of daily life, and Petrucci gave high praise to the Immigrant and Multicultural Service Society for their strong support of this initiative. The city's mosque and the St. Vincent de Paul Society were also instrumental.
"We want to do a great job of this so we can then look ahead at bringing more people to Prince George who need this help. We have a welcoming community and we can easily accept new families into our community, so we hope this can be repeated," Petrucci said.
More help is needed, especially cash. What isn't used for this inaugural family will be the nest-egg for the next one. All of it is under the supervision of the four local Catholic congregatons, led by the Immaculate Conception Church.
Anyone wishing to contribute to these efforts can call Franca at 778-349-0971. Donation cheques can be made out to Immaculate Conception Church with "refugee aid" in the memo line, and these contributions are tax deductible.
The new family arrives on June 23.
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