This Syrian refugee couple is making Canmore home after 8 years in limbo

The couple fled their native Syria in the midst of heavy violence and eventually made it to Malaysia. 

And then, for eight years, they waited to go to their new home.

Waill and Dana Tatari, who arrived about a month ago, are the second Syrian family to be taken in by the Bow Valley Syrian Refugee Project. They will make a home of Canmore, thanks to the sponsorship. 

The pair, now finished their 14-day quarantine, and are getting to know their new community — which at first felt a bit frigid compared to what they were used to.

"I remember when we first arrived here it was night and it was freezing cold. And when I say freezing cold, it was 16 [degrees]," said Waill. With a laugh, he adds that he's been told by many people to prepare for below zero weather in the winter.

The first time he stepped into their Canmore house, Waill says he cried, as the couple haven't had their own place since being in Syria.

"It's overwhelming," Dana said. "Everything is different.… We always meet nice people here, like Canadians are amazing."

A long journey

The couple says that while they were in Malaysia, they were set to go to New Zealand. They had an interview setup with their immigration officer, and were expecting to leave for the country sometime afterward.

But about 12 hours before the interview, Waill said they got a call saying their file had been withdrawn.

While trying to find somewhere else to go, Waill reached out to a cousin who lives in Canmore and who moved to Canada about 14 years ago. It was how they were put in touch with the Bow Valley group.

That was back in December 2016, when Debra Hornsby, chair of the Bow Valley Syria Refugee Project, said the group received their email.

Hornsby said the group had just finished bringing in a family of six, who were settled into Canmore. She said it happened to be the right time, while the group felt they had capacity for another family.

"He and Dana were stuck in Malaysia. They had no status there. They had fled Syria during some of the heaviest fighting," Hornsby said.

The Tataris' application was completed in 2017, and then they waited.

It wasn't until March that the Bow Valley group announced the couple's permanent resident visa applications had been approved by Canada.

Then, as they were waiting for their travel dates, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"Everything stopped," Hornsby said.

But on July 23, the couple finally arrived.

"It would have been four years this coming December."

Hornsby said it wasn't difficult to raise the funds to get both families to Canada. She said they're hopeful the group can sponsor another family eventually.

Under the group's sponsorship terms, the couple will be provided with living expenses and support for one year.

Settling in

"We felt home from Day 1," Waill said.

"In Malaysia … everything is different.… We were always anxious, because we don't belong there, in a way. We were still illegal. so we couldn't do anything."

Dana says she thinks the pandemic, to an extent, may have hurt the plight of other Syrian refugees around the world, partly because the war crisis might not be getting the same attention it previously did in pre-COVID-19 times.

"For sure, that will affect them because when you're worried about yourself and your family, it's harder to think about people in other countries," she said. "This is understandable."

The couple says they're grateful for the support of the community and the sponsors from the Bow Valley group.

And they're looking to grow roots in their new community.

Waill is a graphic and web designer, but he said he recently took a slight pivot in his career — he became a game designer.

"Hopefully I'll try to start my own gaming studio," Waill said.

"I want to find a way to settle here, maybe buy a small house here, have a car and just do my thing."

"I think it's going to be fine," Waill said, chilly weather and all.