Syrian refugees in Lethbridge share experiences of coming to southern Alberta

Hoping to drum up support for the sponsorship of more Syrian refugees, community organizers gathered Thursday at the University of Lethbridge to introduce some of those already living here to the community at large. 

Lethbridge is already home to more than 300 Syrian refugees, most of them government sponsored.

Abed & Nur Alsayyed

Abed Alsayyed, 12, stood bravely in front of the crowd of about 50 people that had gathered at the university to hear him speak. Only having learned English last January when he came to Lethbridge, he spoke impeccably. 

"I'm from Syria and I've been here one year and it's been amazing," he started.

His younger sister Nur, 3, ran around the hall fascinated by the media's cameras and all the attention. 

The pair of children and their parents have an abundance of support in the community, as demonstrated by those who showed up to hear Abed speak. He thanked the teacher of his grade six class at GS Lakie Middle School for attending. 

Abed says his parents have struggled to pick up English, even if it was a breeze for him. He says it's a different world to live here, but he loves it with great enthusiasm. 

The cold weather he loves a little less, remembering his first winter, "It was freezing."

Abdullah Mouslli

Abdullah Mouslli, 22, was brought to Lethbridge via Jordan by a group of students at the University of Lethbridge. 

The World University Service of Canada, WUSC, has chapters across the country and allows students to sponsor fellow students hoping to come to Canada to pursue post-secondary education. 

Mouslli came to Lethbridge last fall and is currently studying new media. He cherishes the opportunity to continue to pursue education.

"Refugees actually want to be educated, nobody likes to be ignorant," he said. 

"I actually felt the pressure and I remembered my friends who died in Syria." 

He told the crowd about a friend who aspired to be a dentist, another who had been a professional athlete. When war broke out, everyone was devastated, both his friends joined rebel groups and died, each at the age of 19. 

Mouslli spoke about his fears of what would happen next in Syria. Even if war ended overnight, he explained, the country would be in the hands of a "lost generation" who had not been properly educated, and knew nothing but war and violence. 

"This is the real problem," he said. "The time is going to come to rebuild our country and we're going to have an unqualified generation."

With that in mind, Mouslli pursues his studies and hopes the university will be able to give other Syrians the same opportunities afforded him.