First families of refugees welcomed to Manitoulin
MANITOULIN—Three Eritrean refugee families being sponsored by Island communities arrived on Manitoulin on February 18. The Little Current refugee family of seven was collected from the Sudbury Airport by a welcoming committee and have spent their first days resting in their new home following a harrowing three-day journey into the unknown that saw them travel through several countries to reach the shores of Manitoulin.
Due to the large size of the one Little Current family, the government consented to fly them to Sudbury, rather than the committee having to arrange transport to the Island from Toronto. Other families, including a second family destined for Little Current, were met in Toronto by their sponsoring committee and have also arrived safe and sound on the Island.
A.J. Bus Lines supplied a 48-passenger bus to bring the refugee family to their new home and the driver donated her time to the effort. A number of the Little Current family members stepped off the plane to a Canadian winter wearing only flip-flops on their feet and without winter clothing to protect them from the elements.
Bundled up in afghan blankets the family members were whisked onto the bus in which the temperature had been hiked on their behalf by the driver. The Ethiopian refugee camp in which the families have been living, some for as much as 15 years, enjoy an arid average temperature of 85 degrees year-round (that’s 30 degrees in Canada’s Celsius measurement).
“I wrapped my coat around the shoulders of the mother, she was so tiny it went around her three times,” said Little Current spokesperson Linda Erskine.
Committee members described the family members as “delightful” and “so sweet” and although the committee enjoys the services of a local woman who speaks Kuman, a language understood by the younger members of the family, the mother is even more isolated as she only speaks Tigrinya, the main language of Eritrea.
Still, the male members of the family have been out and about in the community already where they have been receiving a hearty welcome.
“It was so wonderful to see people stopping in the street to welcome them to the community,” said Ms. Erskine. She noted that even though Island residents greeting the refugees did not share a common language, the expressions and tone of those people who stopped to shake their hands and say “welcome to Canada” was unmistakable.
On their first morning in Canada, the Little Current family awoke to a breakfast prepared by the volunteers who are staying with them through the first few days in shifts. Regeat Asmeash of Little Current performed a traditional Eritrean coffee ceremony, using the traditional equipment, raw coffee beans, spices and frankincense. The wherewithal to hold the ceremony was contained in a gift box assembled by Little Current resident Dale Shain with the assistance of her daughter, and the mother of her Eritrean partner in Toronto.
The heady scent of frankincense drifted up from the small square of charcoal that Ms. Asmeash had lit and set on the stand for that purpose. Miraculously, the burning incense did not set off the fire alarms in the house and the comfortable sense of ease settling over the volunteers and the family highlighted the whole purpose of the ceremony.
Guests watched as the coffee beans are roasted by hand in a small cast iron frying pan, before being ground to the right consistency in a mortar and pestle. “I usually use an electric grinder,” admitted Ms. Asmeash.
The coffee ceremony is a leisurely affair, harkening to a time when families would sit and discuss the doings of their days, how things are going with their school work and at work and the pace is unrushed. A platter of popcorn is taken around the room by one of the young refugee children, in fact, the children each leapt to help clean up and put away the dishes following meals and to serve the popcorn and flatbread unbidden.
The first question posed by one of the older male refugee family members as we awaited the coffee speaks volumes. “Is there work?” The second question posed by a younger family member was “when do we get to go to school?” The third question asked regarded whether there was any football (that would be soccer to most Canadians).
Interviews and photographs of the refugee families will be a while in forthcoming. Aside from the considerable language barriers that remain to be overcome, the Mennonite Central Committee media guidelines preclude such until the refugees are settled and comfortable and recognize they are under no obligation to surrender their privacy.
“Remember, that while media attention is helpful for promoting sponsorship and humanitarian aid,” read the guidelines, “it should not ever interfere with the establishment and maintenance of a safe and welcoming environment for newcomers.”
A key element in the policy is to understand the underlying power dynamics at play in the sponsor/newcomer relationship. Those dynamics complicate requests for interviews and photos, “as the sponsoring group, earnest questions carry much more weight than one might anticipate.”
“Newcomers often feel as though they must follow the requests of their sponsoring groups—even though they most newcomers are uncomfortable being filmed or having their story broadcast,” continue the policy guidelines. It is important to remember that even when giving newcomers an option to say no, many will feel obliged to say yes anyway.”
To this end also, committee members are urged not to share contact information (address, email or phone number for example) of any of the recent arrivals.
The guidelines also caution committee members about the use of social media and posting details on such sites as media outlets have access to those sites and may show up uninvited.
Committee members are encouraged to share their own experiences as a sponsoring group, however those stories, notes the policy, “will satisfy the need for a local connection to an international story.”
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