Afghan 'oldcomers' hold BBQ in Winnipeg park to mentor recent refugee arrivals
Event at Crescent Drive Park aimed to provide mentoring on adapting to life in Manitoba
Recently-arrived Afghan refugees to Winnipeg got a chance to meet and mingle with so-called "oldcomers" Sunday afternoon as part of an effort to help forge social connections and provide mentoring on how to adapt to life in Manitoba.
The event, co-sponsored by Accueil Francophone, a settlement service for Francophone newcomers, immigrants and refugees in Manitoba and the Afghan-Canadian Women's Organization (ACWO), was held at Crescent Drive Park in the city's south.
It's important for the Afghan newcomers to know that they're not alone and will have help navigating the ins and outs of how things work in Canada and Manitoba, said ACWO co-founder Ariana Yaftali.
"They can see that 'these people have come from the same background and have made it — one day we [will] also become established,'" said Yaftali, who resettled in Canada in the wake of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The "oldcomers," she quipped, will be there to be a friend and help mentor the new refugees on things like the immigration process, school registration and obtaining health services.
A charter plane from Pakistan carrying 324 Afghanistan refugees — including 120 children — landed in Winnipeg on Aug. 26. More than 100 were destined for Winnipeg, Brandon and Winkler, and the rest will settle in other parts of Canada, Accueil Francophone previously said.
The mentors can also help the newcomers deal with the trauma of living under Taliban rule, said Yaftali. As well, they have someone to call outside the working hours of social service agencies, she added.
In 2021, a Taliban resurgence overthrew the Islamic Republic and re-established the Islamic Emirate. Insurgents then started targeting Afghans with ties to the former government, exacting revenge on interpreters who helped international forces.
The recent arrivals to Manitoba included more than 160 refugees who are former interpreters for the Canadian Armed Forces.
"These people need our help. They need our hearts — to prove that we are here for them," said Gilbert Weeh, a community connection coordinator at Accueil Francophone.
The agency is seeking donations of all kinds, including items like beds, as the refugees move into permanent homes in the province, Weeh said.
One recent newcomer told CBC he'd come with his wife and infant daughter and so far life in Canada has been good.
"Everybody here is fantastic – [we're] feeling very safe, very happy here," he said, adding the mentoring has been "so useful."
The man said his family is still in a hotel but hope to find a home in the coming weeks. Because he speaks English, he said he hoped to find work soon.
The federal government has committed to resettle 40,000 Afghan people in Canada.