Amid rising pressure on Justin Trudeau to make good on a promise to settle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada, a Prince George church is taking action.
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church has passed a motion to sponsor a Syrian family, and is looking to raise money for a blended visa.
“We had seen what has been happening over in Europe, and since many members of our congregation are of European Descent and had come over here as immigrants as well, they were very tuned-in to the matter,” says Pastor Fleming Blishen. “It all kind of came to a head when the images of that little boy on the beach showed up.”
The Blended Visa Office-Referred Program is a one year commitment, with the federal government paying for six months of settlement fees for refugees identified for resettlement by the United Nations Refugee Agency with private sponsors in Canada.
Private sponsors like public groups and churches are responsible for the other six months of financial support, and up to another year of emotional and social support.
According to the government website, the majority of refugees sponsored under this program typically arrive in Canada within 1-4 months of being sponsored, and are strongly advised to remain in their sponsorship city for at least one year.
The amount of money raised will determine the size of the family sponsored.
Blishen says the church has plenty of experience sponsoring refugees.
“The congregation had sponsored a few families in the early 2000s… A family from Sudan, and one from Kosovo. The family from Kosovo came over and integrated really quickly, they found jobs quickly, and adapted pretty fast. With the people from Sudan, it was more of a culture shock. The weather, the language was a little more difficult, but both families ended up moving away from Prince George to Edmonton.”
The cause hits close to home, as many members of the congregation immigrated from Europe with their families.
“There’s this underlying understanding that when you’re an immigrant, you really need that help. Interestingly enough, a lot of the people who came over here did it on their own,” noted Blishen. “One family in particular that I talked to had come from Yugoslavia, got off the train here in Prince George, didn’t speak English, and essentially had nobody. They had a very difficult time finding a place to live.”
The effort won’t be limited to the Church, or Prince George, with fundraising planned until the end of December.
The congregation passed the motion with the goal of involving surrounding communities, and anyone who feels close to the cause.
“Perhaps people will consider this as an extra gift going into December. Maybe they’ll spend a little less on Christmas presents and put some money towards this cause, to help a family. From what we understand, these people have gone through some horrific situations.”
Right now, it’s all hands on deck for the church, as it forms a steering committee to head fundraising efforts, But when push comes to shove and a family arrives, they’ll be looking for volunteers to help with small things that often slip your mind. Blishen cited driving, registering for bank accounts, and helping to enrol children in school as examples.
“We have one gentleman who’s already volunteered to be part of a welcoming committee to meet them at the airport, and he’s actually from Syria as well.”
On a federal level, a plan to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees will be presented to the Liberal cabinet Thursday, though it isn’t known if Trudeau will be able to meet his deadline by having them settled by 2016.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
