Little Current, Gore Bay groups coming Feb. 18
MANITOULIN—Members of the Manitoulin refugee relocation committee were celebrating the news that the arrival dates for the first three families have finally been announced.
“We had received word Friday (February 5) that the smaller Little Current family and the Gore Bay family would be arriving on February 18,” said Island committees spokesperson Dr. Ben Quackenbush. “Then we received word tonight that the larger Little Current family would be arriving in Toronto on February 18 as well. They will be receiving their processing in Toronto and then probably coming up that evening.”
Some of the information is still up in the air. “We don’t yet know the exact arrival times,” said Dr. Quackenbush.
As to travel arrangements, there is some variety anticipated there as well. “Each of the groups on the Island are making their own transportation arrangements,” said Dr. Quackenbush.
News that the families were on their way has allowed a collective sigh of released breath, he admitted. “There has been a lot of patiently waiting,” he said.
Once the families have arrived and settled in the real work of making the families welcome in the community will begin, but a lot has been accomplished already.
“It will be about three months before the federal money will begin flowing,” said Dr. Quackenbush, “but all of the houses are complete. We don’t need any more to furnish them and about 75 percent of what we need this year has been raised, so we are in pretty good shape.”
“Our families will be here on the 18th,” said a jubilant Little Current committee spokesperson Linda Erskine. “We are pumped. We are hoping that we will have a time so we can let people know so we can have a small group to welcome them when they arrive.”
The large Little Current family of Eritrean refugees (there are seven members) have been living in a tent in an Ethiopian refugee camp for a decade-and-a-half and apparently they will need to learn English, so the adjustment they are facing will be daunting.
“If they have managed to survive living in a tent for this long, I think they probably have some pretty impressive coping skills,” surmised Ms. Erskine. “We are just very happy that they will soon be safe and able to start work on building their new lives.”
