– “Chaos and war can happen to anyone, any time and anywhere. That’s why we need to help. It could have been us. There but for the grace of God…”
The Reverend Peter Cazaly, Elizabeth Irwin and Jill Dumaresq are members of the Cornwall and District Refugee Support Network. They gathered in Morrisburg on Saturday, February 27, to talk to the Leader about the efforts of the Network, which is working to sponsor a Syrian refugee family in Cornwall.
The federal government has pledged to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada, people fleeing the violence tearing Syria apart. However, it is often grass roots, private sponsorship groups manned almost exclusively by volunteers, like the Cornwall and District Refugee Support Network, which currently may be best prepared to actually help refugee families.
“Some of the government sponsored refugees are placed in barracks or temporary shelters here in Canada,” explained Peter Cazaly, “waiting for government sponsored housing to be available. Frankly that kind of housing can be quite scarce, especially in key cities. Private sponsorship church groups like ours already have housing and facilities ready for families.”
“It’s a bit ironic,” Cazaly added, “that it took a crisis like this to make our government finally aware that subsidized housing does not exist. There is insufficient housing out there for everyone, not just refugees.”
The Cornwall Sponsorship Network was formed in November, 2015, by the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Peter’s in Cornwall, St. John’s Anglican Church, Lancaster, Glengarry and Trinity Anglican Church, Cornwall. It also includes representatives like Irwin and Dumaresq from the Morrisburg-Iroquois-Riverside Heights Anglican parish. Funds raised at the Morrisburg Tilted Steeple Coffee House, held at St. James once a month, are already going to help the Refugee Sponsorship organization.
The Cornwall Network group is overseen by the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa under a team of Synod employees headed by Don Smith. The Diocese is an incorporated body and carries legal responsibility, to some extent, for the volunteers who become involved in sponsoring refugees. This ‘sponsorship agreement’ structure, established with the government, has been in place since the War in Viet Nam.
“We are recognized as a ‘constituent group’ under the Diocese umbrella,” Cazaly explained. “The Anglican Diocese makes assurances to the government that groups like ours will actually do as promised on behalf of the refugees. Then our groups accept the challenges and the risks that sponsorship can bring.”
Refugee sponsorship is a serious commitment.
Private sponsorship groups have to guarantee a minimum of $30,000 to cover all a refugee family’s expenses including housing, education, food and clothing and social services for one year. Volunteers, churches, ordinary Canadians must do all the leg work and fundraising.
“But we knew we could do it,” said Elizabeth Irwin. “What inspired us to try were the efforts of Partners in Mission, a group which includes Morrisburg’s Gail McCooeye. Partners in Mission is part of the presbytery of the Seaway Valley, under the United Church. They already have a young family from Lebanon in their care in Cornwall.”
“A leader at our Cornwall training session speculated that when the government mandate is met, private organizations like ours will be in line. We are thinking a family may come to us the end of March, perhaps. Fingers crossed,” said Cazaly.
Over the course of meetings and training sessions, the members of the sponsorship group have had to learn to set aside personal views and possible misconceptions about the Syrians.
“We must be aware of stereotypes,” explained Jill Dumaresq, “of not imposing our cultural pre-conceptions and beliefs on the newcomers. Like we can’t assume that any Moslem woman who comes here is somehow oppressed. There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Syrian, just like there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Canadian.”
“Refugees come from many backgrounds,” added Elizabeth Irwin. “Educated, not educated, well-to-do, desperate. They have varied experiences, some English, excellent English, no English. And there is an urban/rural divide, just like in Canada.”
A document entitled the Syria Culture Guide, created by bhasin consulting inc., in January, 2016, provides a valuable overview for Canadian sponsors about what to expect from the refugee families.
A key focus for sponsors, according to Peter Cazaly, is to avoid “viewing these people as the ‘personal project’ of our group. We have to give them as much control over decisions in their lives as we can, even if they decide they would like to live elsewhere in the long run.”
The group has learned that sponsors shouldn’t flock to the airport, overwhelming the newcomers. Families are already exhausted, frightened and uncertain. They do not want to be separated, or out of each other’s sight when they arrive.
“Many have escaped a war zone, and they are terribly afraid of being apart,” said Irwin. Often they have come to Canada with no clear idea of who is sponsoring them. A church group? Private citizens? Some organization? “It’s frightening to be handed over to a group of strangers,” said Dumaresq. “Yes, it was terrible where they were, but it is still terrifying to come to Canada.”
Peter Cazaly, Elizabeth Irwin and Jill Dumaresq, like almost all area sponsors, and like most ordinary Canadians, already lead busy, often demanding lives themselves. I asked them why they were willing to take on yet another challenge, sponsoring a refugee family.
“Mine was an immigrant family,” said Peter. “My family came from Holland after the war. I know what it can be like.”
“We are all, to some extent, refugee families,” said Elizabeth. “My family came here out of the Hungarian chaos. And the other half were Irish, from the years of the Potato Famine.”
“It’s a faith thing for me,” said Jill. “I can’t stand that people have nowhere to go. We have a mandate to care for one another.”
The Cornwall and District Refugee and Support Network would gladly welcome any monetary support from the community. The organization now has a Facebook page providing information and updates. The Rotary Club of Cornwall has volunteered to oversee pledges (which can be made at any branch of Scotiabank), and donations of $20 or more will be issued tax receipts.
The Network volunteers are eagerly awaiting a family, perhaps of five or six, a mother, father and children. “We want people to be aware that something is truly going on in this area to help others,” said Peter Cazaly.
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