Toronto residents share stories of refugee roots
‘I’m what happens when you accept refugees’
A Toronto woman wants to dispel the hesitations some Canadians may have over refugees with an online photo project spurred by the harrowing image of Alan Kurdi.
The photograph of the lifeless three-year-old galvanized discussion over the plight of Syrian refugees and how to help them.
Melissa Alvares, mother to a 15-month-old, says the tragic photo "really struck me and really hit me."
"I think it's sad that it took something that horrific to wake people up."
Alvares says she thought of her mother who fled to Canada as a refugee 43 years ago after then Uganda president Idi Amin ordered non-Ugandan Asians to leave within 90 days.
"For everyone seeing this happen, it brought back a lot of memories."
Alvares says she wanted to contribute somehow to the debate arising from Kurdi's haunting image.
"People worry: 'What's going to happen if we do let refugees in? How is it going to affect our economy, our employment?'" she said.
"I want to show them that I'm what happened. I'm an example of what happens when a country like Canada opens up its door to refugees."
Alvares took a photo of her and her son and added a blue banner with the caption: "I'm what happens when you accept refugees."
She coined the hashtag #imwhathappens and has encouraged others in her Facebook network to share their own stories of having refugee roots or coming to Canada as a refugee themselves.
My mum was among thousands air lifted out of Uganda during Idi Amin's dictatorship <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/imwhathappens?src=hash">#imwhathappens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/refugeeswelcome?src=hash">#refugeeswelcome</a> <a href="http://t.co/QYEl5rd8fF">pic.twitter.com/QYEl5rd8fF</a>
—@kendraabelShe says she's received several requests from friends and acquaintances to add the caption to their photos.
"A lot of people don't even know what a face of a refugee who lives in Canada looks like."
What will happen if we accept thousands of refugees?My mom was a refugee 43 years ago so <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/imwhathappens?src=hash">#imwhathappens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/refugee200k?src=hash">#refugee200k</a> <a href="http://t.co/KJNmkziNLR">pic.twitter.com/KJNmkziNLR</a>
—@FruDawgAlvares says she hopes these images can help "release some of the red tape."
On Friday, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins called on Ottawa to bring 5,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year and Toronto Mayor John Tory joined a group contributing $27,000 to sponsor a refugee family through Toronto-based Lifeline Syria.
"A lot of us have been able to have a great life in Canada because of Canada's refugee or immigration policy," she said.