Syrian Family Arrives
Tired but happy family arrives at YXS early this morning. photos courtesy YXS
Prince George, B.C.- The plane was delayed by more than an hour, and the temperature was minus 20, but the first Syrian refugee family has received a very warm welcome to Prince George.
Mayor Lyn Hall and members of the Westwood Church who had sponsored the family, were on hand when the family of five stepped off the Air Canada flight at 1:40 this morning.
(At right, family surrounded by some who were on hand to welcome them to their new home 
It is the end of a process that has taken 14 months, and the family was to be taken to an apartment that has been rented for them.
The family is the first privately sponsored family to arrive in Prince George, but won’t be the last. The Westwood church has sponsored three different families, and the second group could be coming at any time.
The Westwood Church hopes to raise $50 thousand for each family they want to sponsor to ensure the family is adequately funded as they start their new lives.
There are other churches in P.G. working on bringing Syrian refugees to the community, and there are still those who may come as part of the Federal Government’s plan.
Comments
They have nicer clothes than my kids, and come strapped with a guitar and.. are those 300$ headphones? Can I get 50k for my family as well?
Leroyjenkins your ignorance is staggering.
They are people fleeing a devastating war. I know you would appreciate it if they looked like savages, but in reality, these are normal people like you (possibly) and I that are simply trying to escape death in their home country. They are normal people with educations, careers, possessions, and everything else that ‘people’ have. Grow a heart (and a brain) and start contributing to society.
Absolutely disgusting sentiment by Leroyjenkins. I personally think it’s great to see refugees arrive with some sort of possessions. Imagine losing most everything you have. I would guess that music is important to the two in the picture with the guitar and headphones and I say bravo to that.
Rednecks and naysayers, you need to remember that the Syrian people are just like Canadian people. They are people. The only exception is that they have lived through some real horror.
Welcome family. I hope that you enjoy Prince George and don’t mind winter.
Welcome to Prince George! We may be a little rough around the edges but the inside is good!
I didn’t know Slash was a refugee..!
Jokes aside.. Welcome to PG..
@Leroyjenkins..Feel free to jump on the next plane out of this country if you don’t like it here. Maybe you could try Syria perhaps. When or “if” you find a country with a better standard of living than ours by all means please report back to us. The possessions that they are holding in the picture are probably the only things that they own ..Take that into consideration based on the fact that they probably had to sacrifice everything they ever worked for to get here..Or it was taken away from them in the conflict that they were fleeing.
Since when is there an Air Canada flight that arrives at 1:40 am? Or was that the 12:10 flight delayed by 90 minutes?
When my father and his family fled the Nazis he couldn’t take much but he took his banjo.
I’m glad to see the community come together to support this family and refugees all over the country. I just hope we can also take a look at the struggling families and communities in our own backyard as well and that they don’t take a backseat to foreign arrivals. There is much work to be done here and is where the money should be going first.
Thank you for the great photos of our new neighbours! I’m sure that they will enjoy and succeed in their new life in Prince George.
The look on the father’s face in the top photo is worth two thousand words. I know how it feels knowing your family is going to be safe and his face and posture show it. Welcome.
I have no idea what their professions are, but the fact that these immigrants already speak English suggests a certain level of education and outward-lookingness that makes success likely.
billposer, God bless your father, his family, and his banjo. To Prince George’s newest residents – welcome! This is a great place to live. If you run into that dumba$$ leroyjenkins, just keep walking. The rest of us are glad you’re here. :-)
I am so happy to see the first of our several new Syrian families have arrived. There are many people working really hard to make this happen.
As far as their clothing goes, I would think it should alleviate some of your concerns, Leroyjenkins. As long as we are making assumptions, lets assume that these people had some money before the collapse of their society, and are probably looking forward to getting jobs, so they can have their lifestyle back. This means that they will not be taking money from our own less fortunate, and our pensioners, and all the other folks who some seem to think the refugees are a threat to. They will hopefully do alright here.
I am sincerely hoping they find peace, and prosperity here. Welcome home. I can’t wait to meet you all, and all the future refugee families too. :)
Welcome! You will find a strong community of people who care!
I wonder if Leroy plays the banjo? ala Deliverance.
Leroy now has the record for the largest negative number on 250. Minus 49 and counting.
They went to save on foods today and bought basic food items, no steak no lobster basic food.
Welcome to Prince George.
Watched their arrival on bctv news tonight.. One thing to notice is they speak better English than a lot if Canadians who have been here for decades. Welcome to PG.. Hope you get used to the weather quickly :-)
We are so concerned about the cost of 50g to support a family of 5 ….. When the cost of inmate per year is 110 g …… Am I missing something about humanity
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