Customs red tape transformed to red Christmas ribbon for Syrian mosaic carpenter

A risky plan to retrieve a mosaic carpenter's creations from war-torn Syria almost ended in disaster, when his wares were bound in red tape at the Canadian border.

But Amer Al Asali can now relax as three crates containing his life's work sit in the kitchen of his Saint John apartment. Each is packed with dozens of boxes of various sizes and shapes — the culmination of 25 years of work.

Al Asali plans to start a local business, selling his mosaic creations, so he can get off government assistance.

Trained by his father to create the mosaic patterns from wood, some are so detailed, they take more than a month to construct.

Boxes from Syria delivered

8 years ago

Duration 0:38

A Syrian artist now living in Saint John has been waiting on the edge of his seat, hoping to get his pieces into New Brunswick in time for the Christmas markets. It was one thing to get them out of a country ravaged by war ... and then ... a stressful delay at the Canadian border.Al Asali had his brother, who is still in Syria, arrange to have his life's work retrieved from Damascus. The pair hired a man to retrieve hundreds of decorative boxes from storage during a ceasefire.

When the boxes were shipped to Canada, Al Asali was dismayed to find they were being held by customs, due to sanctions on trade with Syria.

"He [felt] like he [failed]," Al Asali's son Firas translated. "He [wanted] to start new life with a new job and do what he [knows] and what he can do."

Time of the essence

"That was crushing," said Ray Riddell, who has been helping the family transition since they arrived in Saint John last February.

"We had gone through all the pre-conditions, got the business number and got the OK from customs," he said. With a flurry of holiday markets on the horizon, Riddell said it was crucial to sort the matter out quickly.

Hank Scarth, another volunteer with the newcomer welcoming team, reached out to Saint John MP Wayne Long to get the ball rolling.

It was a crime that those boxes were basically held up in a warehouse in customs.- Wayne Long, Saint John MP

After calling around to contacts within customs, Long and his assistant Jim Hennessy fast-tracked the appeal.

"It was a crime that those boxes were basically held up in a warehouse in customs," said Long.

Apparently there was an issue with how the paperwork was filled out, but Long said after hearing Al Asali's story, he and Hennessy were motivated to work on his behalf. "This was a case that we really wanted to go that extra mile," Long said.

"My mantra was that the red tape would become red Christmas ribbon" said Riddell, "and it has."

Al Asali spent around $1,400 to have the boxes shipped to Saint John, but the customs delay could have been much more costly.

Riddell said customs broker Livingston International waived all the storage fees that accumulated while the boxes were tied up.