Ways to Help Syrian Refugees (by Zareen Muzaffar)

Zareen Muzaffar is a young journalist with a passion for story-telling.  She has become both a partner and an inspiration on the #WelcomeHomeTO project. She's working on a really cool story-compilation project that I know you're going to love!

Here are some tips she has for those looking to welcome Syrian Refugees as new Canadians but not sure where to start:

Wish to help the Syrian refugees?

According to the latest article in Toronto Star, Syrian refugees will begin arriving in Canada by mid-December. The federal government said this week that Canada could welcome as many as 50,000 refugees by the end of 2016, including those who are being privately sponsored.

What can we, as Canadian citizens, do to make the transition easy for the Syrian refugees? What’s required at this time is a better dialogue between the government and settlements agencies. WelcomeHomeTO aims to promote and maintain a culture of openness where the newcomers feel welcome.

Those who wish to assist in helping Syrian refugees can contribute in different ways. Here are some ways you can help make the transition smoother for the refugees arriving in different parts of Canada.

LifeLine Syria: This community engagement initiative plans to actively participate in Canada’s commitment to resettle Syrian refugees. They aim to help recruit, train and assist sponsoring groups over the next two years to welcome and support refugee families during their first year in the GTA. LifeLine Syria also plans to work with the Syrian community in the GTA to ensure that they help shape and participate in this initiative. For more information visit their website or read their plan of action here.

GTA Refugee Assistance Hub: This group was created to help people find/supply donations of clothes, household goods and other immediate needs and required services for Syrian refugee families arriving in Toronto. All members are welcome to post requests/offers for items, questions, offers of time/skills, etc.

In-Kind Donation Collection: Located right by the subway station (Dundas West), this center has 21 Certified Information and Referral Specialists and five Arabic speaking staff members. They hope to receive winter clothing, bedding, kitchen ware, computers among a range of other necessities. For more information, visit their page here.

The Clothing Drive: What started out as a post on Facebook quickly turned into a national campaign for donations. The Clothing Drive collects clothes, organizes them and delivers the packages to the incoming Syrian families. They describe their inititave as, “This drive is a "Room for More" initiative on behalf of several sponsorship groups. The mandate is simple: collect clothes and only clothes for the soon to arrive Syrian Refugees.While the immediate need is for winter clothing and outerwear - we will accept clothing for all seasons”. Join their group on Facebook  here.

Save a Family from Syria: The First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto has partnered with the Muslim Association of Canada(MAC) and specifically their Masjid Toronto to work together to bring families to Toronto and settle them into a new life here in Canada. Volunteers can sign up on the website. You can also read stories on their webpage here.

Why I'm not fond of #WelcomeRefugees

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, so please bear with me.

Canada welcomes countless New Canadians every year.  They are mothers and fathers, entrepreneurs and tradepeople, Muslims, Hindus, people of different sexual orientations and heights and political orientations and all the rest of it.

But they are never just one of these things.  No one ever is.

It's convenient for us to think about people this way - you're either of us, or not of us - but it's not accurate.

When we use simple phrasing like this, we unconsciously tend to view people through one lens, rather than seeing them as complex human beings with multiple facets.

If a person is something we are not - a Muslim, a Refugee, a Missing/Murdered Aboriginal Woman, a Mentally Ill Person - it becomes very easy to see them as a caricature of a person and romanticize who and what they actually are, as human beings.

This concept of viewing people as more than a label has really been driven home to me of late through Stories of Ours, a one-of-a-kind story telling series founded and run by the amazing Erin Kang.

Every story teller can be labelled as one "thing" - an immigrant, a refugee, a black man, a Korean-Canadian woman - but each story paints a picture of a complex human being that experiences life through every aspect of who they are and not just through what we opt to see them as.

Many of the stories are heartbreaking.  Some of them are inspiring.  Each of them uncovers the facets of an individual and, in doing so, reveals a new thread in the human tapestry.

I love the idea of welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada, and refugees from everywhere.  To me, Canada is a global Rivendell, a place where everyone can belong, thrive and contribute.  We don't evade problems - we turn them into opportunities.

Rest assured, many of the refugees who will soon be calling Canada home have incredible gifts to share, ideas to nurture and innovations to hustle.  They may open your next favourite restaurant, or develop your next favourite digital platform, or be your next Minister of Democratic Institutions.

I believe it's important to dig deep into the hardships these individuals have experienced, but also to not look at them as pity cases.  

Those who have come to Canada as refugees in the past - not to mention their descendants - have ended up making tremendous contributions to our society, our cultural life, and our economy.

They are refugees now, but what they will be moving forward is neighbours, partners, friends, family.

Which is why I picked the name #WelcomeHomeTO for my community support aggregation project. 

This isn't just about them coming here - it's about us welcoming them, as well.  Like a new family member.  Some day, they will be doing the same thing for other new Canadians.  It's what we've always done.

There's what we offer, there's what they offer, then there's what we build together - like a potluck, with Canada being the common ground for making the soup that's more than the sum of its ingredients.

I understand the intent behind #WelcomeRefugees but really, it's about more than refugees, and it's about more than the government's plan.

It's about people.  It's about stories.

That's what Canada has always had the potential to be, and only embraces when we recognize the individual and build the country collaboratively - not the toughest or wealthiest nation, but one that demonstrates what humanity can be at its best.

they are important to building a stronger and better Canada, and that their successful resettlement and integration has been a key part of our country’s history.