FALL RIVER: Anytime the phone rings at Sue MacLean’s house in Fall River, she jumps up with excitement—and nervousness—that it could be “the call.”
MacLean is the chairwoman of the volunteer-based Riverlake Syrian Refuegee Project—a community group that is supported by the six churches in the Waverley-Fall River-Wellington-Oakfield area—to bring a Syrian family to the area. It’s been a 14-month roller coaster that is nearing an end with news the family the group is sponsoring, the Baroud’s, could be arriving any day now.
“I’m very happy,” MacLean said with excitement in her voice in a Dec. 19 interview with The Laker. “It’s hard to believe, literally.”
The group, representing St. Thomas Anglican; St. Rose of Lima; Wellington United; St. Margaret’s Anglican; St. John’s United Church; and Fall River Chapel, have been working at bringing the family to Canada for the past year and a bit.
Unlike many other Syrian refugees coming to Canada, the Baroud’s are good at speaking English, for the most part. Wassem the father; Nour the wife; Bodi the son; the mother Huda; and baby girl Leen born in April 2016, talk frequently with MacLean.
“Sometimes we chat by messenger and Nour has been learning English colloquialisms. She really likes that,” said MacLean. “One of things that I said to them back in the spring was that one of our sayings was “This is a roller coaster” ride. The family told me that was a very good description of the situation.”
That’s because there’s been many times they have thought their arrival would be imminent, and it wasn’t. That led to the volunteer group having to make the tough decision .
“The committee members who put that apartment together did it with such detail and heart, to give that up was so heartbreaking,” said MacLean.
MacLean has been working closely with Liberal MP Darrell Samson’s office. She said it hasn’t all been smooth.
“There were times when I was angry, and would apologize to Norman Doucet (from MP Samson’s office) when I would take my frustration out on him when it was just a need for more communication from Immigration,” she said. “We need to understand things better. I feel like I have a Masters now in being a refugee sponsor because I’ve learned so much about the process.”
When the Baroud’s will arrive is still up in the air, but MacLean could get a call any day and within a few days the family could be arriving at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, and their new home in Canada. Right now, they are awaiting the stamp of approval by an international security agency who has access to security databases across Europe and the Middle East.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada has committed to a maximum 10 month turnaround time for the refugee application of the Baroud family to be completed; theirs was submitted on March 31, 2016 making Dec. 31, 2016 the magic date.
“We can expect travel confirmation close to that date,” said MacLean. “It may be a few days before. It may be a few days after. We won’t know until the Canadian Embassy in Jordan receives the completed security check for Waseem and Nour. The family is safe and away from the Dec. 18 terrorist attack area in Jordan.
“The family could be on their way to Canada within a few days after the Canadian Embassy in Jordan gets the security check. It could be any day.”
MacLean said there’s been more information than what she has shared, so as to not overwhelm everyone.
She said there was one recent case where within 24 hours of being approved a Syrian family was headed to Canada.
“Right now, what will happen is because I’ve gotten to know them so well in the past 10 months, they are happy with staying with us for the first few nights until we can get an apartment leased and get the stuff out of storage,” said MacLean.
She said the family will eventually live in the Clayton Park area, near a Muslim community, with a mosque nearby.
Wassem and Nour told MacLean thank you in their chat on Dec. 19, as they do every time they talk with her.
“I told them they didn’t need to thank me and my committee, because the whole world is brokenhearted over what is happening in Syria,” she said.
All they’re doing now is playing the waiting game for that phone call, said MacLean.
“If Santa Claus is going rooftop to rooftop in Fall River and the call comes on Christmas Eve, I’ll push him off the roof and yell the good news,” said MacLean chuckling.
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com
