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Dance duo in their 70s deemed an inspiration – for good reason, 17
‘My family is
BROKEN’
FOURTH IN A SERIES: After leaving some family members behind, Somali refugees say connecting with their new communities is next to impossible
Story, photo by Amy Reid Now staff Twitter @amyreid87
T
he last time Khadija Ahmed saw her son he was four weeks old. Today, he’s six. The Somalian refugee thought the day she learned of being accepted into Canada would be the happiest of her life, but it was actually a day that ripped her life apart, a day that has left years of suffering Khadija Ahmed
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from Somalia. “They’re the poorest of the poor,” said Surrey Coun. Judy Villeneuve, co-chair of the Surrey Poverty Reduction Coalition (SPRC), adding they’re often women and children. “They have no alternative to go back to their countries. Many of them have been living in camps for a long time. And the average transportation loan is $10,000 to $15,000. Arriving with that kind of debt is devastating.” Villeneuve has been vocal in calling for the “immoral” loans to be axed, saying it cripples newcomers’ ability to build a successful new life here, especially considering they’ve been recognized as the most vulnerable people in the world. More refugees will land in Surrey soon. Up to 3,000 refugees are expected to come to Metro Vancouver over the next few weeks, with experts predicting the vast majority will arrive in Surrey. see REFUGEES › page 8 7295693
FOURTH IN A SERIES: In Surrey, 40 per cent of residents are immigrants. With this series, we look at the challenges they face as they struggle to build a new life here.
in its wake. Her son was just two weeks old when she learned she was coming to Canada in 2009. But there was a big problem. Ahmed filed her application several years earlier, including her three sons. She hadn’t updated it to include her husband or infant son. She was forced to make a choice no mother should ever have to make: Stay with her husband and newborn son and start the application process all over again or leave with three of her children, hoping to give them a better life, hoping the rest of her family would be soon behind her. She chose the latter. “Every day (they) call me,” she said slowly, sitting in City Centre Library in Surrey’s downtown core, tears filling her eyes. “My family is broken.” She’s still pushing to get them here. From 2010 to 2012, Surrey housed 26 per cent – or 555 – of the province’s governmentassisted refugees like Ahmed. The highest number came
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