Winnipeg dinner honours newcomers to Canada, welcomes Syrian refugees

A special dinner was held in Winnipeg's St. James neighbourhood on Thursday to honour the contributions that refugees and newcomers have made to Canada, as well as let incoming Syrian refugees know they are welcome here.

The invite-only event, organized by Stronger Together Manitoba, hosted more than 300 immigrant supporters, immigrants and newcomers, including some Syrian refugees already settled in Manitoba.

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As the first government aircraft carrying Syrian refugees landed in Toronto late Thursday night, some of the attendees at the dinner had advice for the newcomers.

"They need to come with winter jackets because it's cold up in here," said Jeremie Kalimba, a drummer who came to Canada from Uganda three years ago.

Tips for newcomers

Rose Kimani, who came to Canada from Kenya three years ago and now works as an intercultural support worker in Winnipeg, offers these tips for other newcomers:

• Do not ever feel ashamed of your culture and especially your language. Learn English, but embrace the opportunity to have another additional language.
• Do not feel ashamed to receive help. Canadians and especially those in Winnipeg give wholeheartedly and they do it with love.
• Dress well for the weather, especially during winter. The sun in winter is a sign of heightened cold.
• Embrace other cultures, enjoy the difference in others. Learn to do things differently from people of other cultures. Make friends, not necessarily with people from your community but from the diversity Canada has to offer.
• For those with family back home in your country of origin, keep in touch with people at home as much as you can. It gives you connectivity to your roots and is therapeutic.

Refugees 'have a family here'

Stronger Together is a group consisting of members from more than 15 diverse communities in Winnipeg.

Warda Ahmed, one of the organizers of the dinner, said it's important to let Syrian refugees know that "they have a family here, they have people waiting for them here, and that they'll be just fine."

Refugees leave everything behind when they come to a new country, and Syrian refugees today face additional difficulties, Ahmed said before the event.

"Things are a little different because now they're being targeted, and there's a different focus and attention to them," she said.

Ahmed's family fled to India from Somalia when she was an infant. She grew up in India and came to Canada as a refugee when she was 15. Her memories of coming to Canada a decade ago are positive.

"For many of us … it was about that excitement that I'm in Canada," she said. "I was excited to see a little bit of snow. When we arrived at the airport, there was someone who welcomed us. It was all about new beginnings."

But Ahmed worries that misunderstandings and fear-mongering have put Syrians in the spotlight as a potential threat. Thursday's event is an attempt to counter that perception, she said.

"Tonight is about celebrating International Human Rights Day … but also it was an opportunity for us to come together as a community of former refugees and immigrants who've come together holding hands, standing together and showing solidarity to those who will be arriving."

'We will be a good citizen'

Also at Thursday's dinner were members of the Alnuaimi family from Iraq, who fled the ISIS-occupied city of Mosul and came to Canada as government-sponsored refugees last month.

"There's no human rights there, there's killing," said Tamarh Alnuaimi, with the help of a translator. 

"They attacked us and they killed our families," she added. "For that [we] can't go back." 

The family left everything they owned in Mosul, including their house and car, before fleeing to Jordan. They acquired government sponsorship through UNICEF.

The family says they are extremely grateful to be in Canada and to the Canadian government for receiving them. Mahmood Anuaimi says this is his dream.

"To be together as a family and be safe."

They're staying at Welcome Place in Winnipeg for now.

"We promise the government, or the people here in Canada, we will be a good citizen to our second home country, Canada," Mahmood Alnuaimi said.

Some who attended the event said they too have not forgotten the conflict they have escaped, which is why they want to give back.

"I drum for fun? Yes, I do, but I also drum to help my community," said Kalimba. "Because Canada helps me, I got to help them too."