Hamilton

Neighbours step in to sponsor Syrian refugee family's son, stuck in Jordan refugee camp

The Al Khalil family is sick with worry over their son Feras, who is still in a Jordan refugee camp. Then Hamilton neighbour Kaelyn Koepke did an incredible deed - she stepped forward to privately sponsor him. Now the application is stuck in bureaucratic limbo.

Bureaucratic backlog delays arrival: 'We don't even know if they've opened the envelope yet.'

Kaelyn Koepke visits with Haled Al Khalil and Fatema Al Naser. Koepke is the couple's neighbour, and has put together a group to sponsor the Al Khalil's son to come to Canada too. Now they're among those anxiously waiting to hear back from Ottawa. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Fatema Al Naser is in a safe place now.

I'm here but my mind is always back there, thinking about how he's doing.- Halel Al Khalil

She and her husband have a rented house in central Hamilton, away from the bloody Syrian civil war. She has seven of her nine children with her. Her neighbours even contacted Tim Hortons for a seasonal promotion, and the company created a faux white Christmas on her family's front lawn.

And now, some of those Canadian neighbours have come together to privately sponsor her 24-year-old son, Feras, to come to Canada. He's in a Jordan refugee camp with his four small children — including one Al Naser has never seen. The situation, she says, is "desperate."

But those neighbours are among at least 21 local refugee sponsor groups in a holding pattern as federal officials work through a backlog of Syrian refugee applications. Hamilton city council has written to the feds urging them to hurry up.

Whatever it takes, Al Naser said, she needs Feras here. Until then, she can't rest.

The Al Khalil family visits with their neighbours. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

She and husband Halel Al Khalil take daily English classes. But their fear for Feras's safety distracts them.

"I'm here but my mind is always back there, thinking about how he's doing," Al Khalil, a truck driver in his native Syria, said through an interpreter.

We're not used to living apart.- Halel Al Khalil

Even in Syria, he said, everyone lived in one big house — the Al Khalils and their nine children aged six to 24, and Feras's wife and kids.

"We're not used to living apart," Al Khalil said. "It was the war that tore us apart."

Their story has drawn the attention of Kaelyn Koepke, who lives four houses away. The Al Khalils are among the 100 refugees who migrated from Toronto to Hamilton for the cheaper cost of living. Koepke heard about them from a Toronto friend, and started visiting.

Choosing your friends

Koepke speaks no Arabic. The Al Khalils speak little English. The visits were strained at first. They communicated via gestures and words punched into Google Translate. Koepke would teach them English words. They would feed her tea and chocolate.

We don't even know if they've opened the envelope yet.- Kaelyn Koepke

They don't need to use Google Translate anymore, Koepke said.

"They're fast learners. I haven't learned any Arabic."

One day, the couple needed a ride to Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas MP Filomena Tassi's office. That's when Koepke learned they were trying to bring Feras to Canada. 

Al Khalil said when he was living in a refugee camp, he told a United Nations worker his family wouldn't move without Feras. The worker told them to go to Canada first, then apply for Feras to join them. 

They did, but there's been little movement since. So Koepke devised a Plan B. She pulled together some friends willing to help privately sponsor Feras's family. They filed the paperwork in October, but so far, haven't heard back.

"We don't even know if they've opened the envelope yet," she said.

Most come from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey

CItizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is working on its backlog. But it's tough to know exactly where Koepke's application fits into that.

'Their argument is 'we're willing, we're ready, we're able.'"- Mayor Fred Eisenberger

Here's the arrival total since November 2015:

  • 1,280 government assisted refugees have settled in Hamilton.
  • 141 privately sponsored refugees have settled in Hamilton.
  • 39 refugees are in Hamilton via blended sponsorships. (That means private groups partially pay for the resettlement.)
  • 21,134 government assisted refugees have resettled in Canada.
  • 3,877 blended sponsorship refugees have resettled here. (Blended sponsorships mean private groups partially pay for the resettlement.)
  • 13,702 privately sponsored refugees have resettled here.
  • Many come from Lebanon (8,285), followed by Turkey (3,214) and Jordan (3,105).

The government has finalized another 2,712 refugee applications, but the families haven't arrived yet. There's also a backlog of privately sponsored refugee applications dating back to March. Some sponsors characterized the backlog as "a mess." Those cases should be cleared up by early 2017, the government said.

They have the money, but no families

Another 18,112 resettlement applications are being processed right now. That may include Koepke's. She doesn't know for sure.

God gave us a country and a second family.- Halel Al Khalil

Beyond that, the government has implemented a cap of 1,000 on Syrian and Iraqi refugees in 2017 as it tries to address the backlog.

The challenges, the feds say, include establishing identity, security concerns and logistical challenges.

And there's still the matter or processing refugees from other countries, not just Syria, spokesperson Nancy Caron said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Metro Morning in December that the system needs "significant improvements." Hamilton city council, meanwhile, is pushing the feds to hurry to match 21 private sponsorship groups with refugee families.

"This is about families who have sponsorship money pulled together and don't have refugees attached to them," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said. "Their argument is 'we're willing, we're ready, we're able.'"

'She gave me lots of heart emojis'

Wait or no wait, the Al Khalils are tearful over their neighbour's efforts.

Al Naser and Koepke talk on Facebook a lot, Koepke said. That's when she first told her she was assembling a group to sponsor Feras.

"She gave me lots of heart emojis," Koepke said. "A lot of heart eyes."

"We're very grateful and indebted for life," Al Khalil said. "God gave us a country and a second family."

Feras is a barber, Al Khalil said. His brothers aspire to that as well. When Feras gets here, he said, their goal is to set up a barber shop.

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC