Ethiopian, Eritrean communities face 'unbearable time' coping with deaths of newcomer couple in fire

Winnipeg's Ethiopian and Eritrean communities have been rocked by the deaths of a married couple who lived in Canada for less than a year before they died in a North End fire earlier this month.

"The couple were just starting out their lives. There's no explanation for it. It shouldn't have happened," said a statement on the Ethiopian Society of Winnipeg's Facebook page.

"Grief numbs our body, breaks our heart, and drains our veins. It's a tragic loss that's being felt within a community as a whole."

Firefighters and police were called to a three-storey building on Atlantic Avenue shortly before 3 a.m. on Sept. 14, where they found Geda Wodisso, 49, and Zenabu Gula, 38. 

The married couple was sent in critical condition to a hospital where they were pronounced dead, police said.

Winnipeg police have charged a 28-year-old man with second-degree murder and arson in connection with the incident.

"Every single person in the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities are consumed by the grief after such a tragedy so deep-rooted and is affected by it," the Facebook statement said.

"They're saddened. They're confused and they're at a loss and they're having an unbearable time coping with this."

Wodisso and Gula's apartment was one of five suites located above the House of Covenant International Church, pastor Yohannes Engida told CBC News. The church owns the suites, he said. 

Engida estimated the couple had lived there for around six to seven months after arriving from Ethiopia. Other members of their family also live in Winnipeg, he said. 

Tenants pay a reduced rate while they settle into life in Canada, but also aren't forced to move out, the pastor said. 

"The sole purpose of that apartment is just to support newcomers when they come."

The church is attended by Christians from the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities, members of which Engida said have been plunged into grief.

"They came here … just to make their life better," he said. "This kind of experience is shocking and so devastating for everyone."

Alex Donald Courchene was arrested and charged last week with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of arson disregarding human life.

The couple and Courchene didn't know each other, according to police.

Engida said the arrest brings some relief but there are still questions about why the incident happened that will need to be answered in the future. 

In the meantime, the focus will be helping each other navigate through the difficult time, he said. 

"We don't have any other options, other than just supporting one another — and to support, especially, the immediate family."