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Surrey looks to help families deal with ‘crippling’ costs of child care,, 13
Are we ready for refugees? SYRIANS: ‘If there’s not enough resources to help them, you’re going to see a lot of homelessness. You’re going to see a lot of disgruntled refugees. With the younger people, you’re probably going to see an increase in crime’ Story and photos by Amy Reid
Amos Kambere says the Paris attacks are a wake-up call for Canada, which is opening its doors to 25,000 Syrian refugees.
FIFTH 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. this country?” he asked. “How are they helped?” He decided to become part of the solution and was even recognized by the City of Surrey last year, receiving
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“We’ve got to be extremely careful when it comes to opening our doors. We need to be extremely vigilant,” Kambere stressed. “We have all this freedom that we enjoy here. It’s very easy for bad elements to take advantage of those freedoms. We have to be careful of screening them when they come in.” Kambere said refugee processing times can sometimes take years because of the screening protocols. “There’s a process to go through, so 25,000 in a span of two months? We’ve got to be extremely careful.”
the Heart of the City Award for his efforts. Despite his passion for helping newcomers, he is among many concerned about the thousands of Syrian refugees expected to arrive in Metro Vancouver soon. Kambere said the tragedy in Paris that took the lives of more than 100 people last week was a “wake-up call” at a time when Canada is opening its doors to 25,000 Syrian refugees before the end of the year. His concern stems from reports that at least one of the Paris terrorists may have had a Syrian passport.
❚ Interfaith march for victims planned in Surrey, 3 ❚ Tolerance is needed, 10 ❚ Charity begins at home, 10 ❚ Residents urged to help by sponsoring Syrians, 17 Roughly 3,000 of the Syrian refugees are expected to land in Metro Vancouver in the next several weeks – a promise from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the election campaign – and a third of those are expected to land in Surrey.
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To handle that kind of influx, Kambere urges the government to step up with more funding. He said current funding is “absolutely not enough,” adding, “the government is not compensating us.” Kambere says while he has the people to run the programs, he will need more dollars to pay staff once the new refugees land. Asked if he expects more funding to arrive in time to help, he said, “No,” adding, “Right now we don’t have a clue.”
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n a modest building just off of King George Boulevard in Whalley is Amos Kambere’s Umoja Compassion Society. The organization, dedicated to helping refugees and immigrants integrate into Canadian society, is his pride and joy. Since founding Umoja in 2002, he’s worked with newcomers to help them adjust to their new life, something he experienced first-hand 25 years ago as an immigrant. “I came here with four children. That inspired me, that gave me questions – what about others coming to
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