Bathurst joins list of N.B. cities welcoming Syrian families

Five refugee families from Syria, including six men, six women, and 11 children, will move to Bathurst by the end of April.

The families are staying in Fredericton until their apartments can be furnished and preparations for their arrival are complete.

This is the first time the city of Bathurst has welcomed refugees.

One of the mothers said 'this is the first time I see my kid happy like that, and singing- Carole Tremblay, settlement officer

"I went two weeks in Fredericton with the refugees to see how it works to help them the best that I can," said Bathurst's multicultural association settlement officer, Carole Tremblay.

During her time with the families, Tremblay said she saw a change in them, especially in the children.

Most of her conversations with the newcomers were conducted with the help of a translator.

"There was a guy that came, a volunteer to make music and the kids were clapping their hands and smiling and one of the mothers said, 'This is the first time I see my kid happy like that, and singing,'" she recalled.

"Everyday I had stories like that."

Community pulling together

Even though the Syrian families have yet to step foot in the Chaleur region, volunteers in Bathurst are lining up to help their new neighbours

"They're calling me at home," said volunteer coordinator Josh Ouellette.

"Some of them are just lifting furniture, some of it will be driving around with the newcomers, some of them will be translators. I'm very surprised there's that many people in the area that can speak the Arabic language."

In addition to transportation and communication, the families will need help furnishing their Bathurst apartments.

The Bathurst Multicultural Association is organizing a furniture and clothing drive at the Place Bathurst Mall on Saturday.

"When we travel, we travel with luggage and boxes. They travel with plastic bags. That's their total belongings that they own. They have virtually nothing," said association president, Pierre Doucet.

"We have apartments ready, and  we have to furnish them. As soon as the apartments are ready, they will be moving to the Chaleur region."

Other practical supports have been put in place for the 23 refugees once they move in, including language instruction in English and French.

"It will be courses done by CCNB so they will choose the language they want," said settlement officer Tremblay

"The schools are getting ready right now to have the kids with them as soon as they're here."