Potluck welcomes Syrian refugee family to Corner Brook
Members of a Syrian family who are making a new home in Corner Brook say they didn't expect such a warm welcome, and feel "so peaceful" to be in the community.
Mohammad al Homsi, his wife Faten Fouad al Shahadat and their children — nine-year-old Khaled and eight-year-old Jamila — arrived on Dec. 28.
On Sunday, they were invited to a community potluck, featuring everything from pizza to blueberry cake.
"Mohammad was telling me a few minutes ago that when he left his country he thought he left his family behind. Now that he has arrived in Corner Brook he has a bigger family than he has back home," said a translator who is helping the family settle in.
"They feel so safe right now to be here. The welcoming is beyond anything they were thinking. And they feel so peaceful to be here in this community. They never thought it was going to be that way."
The family, who had been living in a refugee camp in Lebanon after being displaced from their hometown in rural Syria, described the city as a safe and welcoming place.
A volunteer support group in Corner Brook raised roughly $30,000 to support the refugees for a year.
Their new home has been fully furnished with everything from dishes to internet access, and the children started school on Monday.
With files from Colleen Connors