Syrian family 'at peace' after arriving in Edmonton to warm welcome

When Tahani Alkadris left the teeming refugee camp in Beirut, she likely had no idea of the welcome that awaited her half a world away.

But when she and her three children walked out into the arrivals area at Edmonton International Airport on Monday, it soon became clear just how powerful the kindness of strangers can be.

There to meet the Syrian refugees was Lindsay Tate, a member of a private sponsorship group that plans to bring 10 members of Alkadris's extended family to Edmonton over the next few days.

"We're going to take you to your house," said Tate, who then repeated herself, as if that might overcome the language barrier.

Tate and her group have spent the past two months preparing for the family's arrival.

They rented a house in north Edmonton, filled it with furniture and stocked the fridge with food. Over the next days and weeks, they plan to help the family settle in and get the kids registered for school.

"We hope to just welcome them into the community, so that they can start becoming Edmontonians," Tate said. "It's just so heartwarming to know that they're going to have a safe place to be, where they can restart a life."

Since Alkadris speaks only Arabic, interpreter Hussein Jomaa stepped in to try to handle questions from reporters.

"She feels at peace," he said, after speaking with Alkadris, whose husband died before the family fled Syria. "It's a new life, a better life. Free of fear. A peaceful life for her and her kids."

Tate said her sponsorship group started small. A few local lawyers got together to talk about what they could do to help. Emails were exchanged, and eventually about 20 people got involved. The Mennonite Centre for Newcomers in Calgary found them a family to sponsor. In the end, it took two months to complete all the paperwork.

"I can't imagine anyone not wanting to assist people this way," Tate said.

There to meet the same plane on Monday was Anwar Shamseddin, whose brother-in-law was also on the flight from Toronto.

"I can definitely take care of one more," he said. "With the family beside me here, we can definitely do it."

Immigration Minister John McCallum said recently more than 10,000 Syrian refugees will have passed medical exams and other requirements to be certified as permanent residents of Canada by the end of the year. He said not all may have arrived in Canada by that time.

Alberta is expected to welcome anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 Syrian refugees by February.