Settled refugee welcomes others to Brandon
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/12/2016 (3357 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
After being part of the first Syrian refugee family in Brandon, Mohamed Armoush is helping other new families get adjusted to his new hometown.
“Adjusting was very easy … I was expecting a harder time but the people have been so wonderful,” Armoush said. “It’s just incredible to be settled.”
Armoush, his wife and their three children came to Brandon in September. They have been busy learning English and Canadian culture. Armoush recently got his driver’s licence and hopes to get a job driving heavy duty equipment, he said.
“There’s a lot of respect between people here … I just love every aspect of it,” Armoush said.
To date, Westman Immigration Services has welcomed around 60 people to Brandon, said settlement services manager Wendy Petersen.
“We’re responsible for them for their first 21 days … we pick them up from the airport and provide life skills training, show them how to use the bus and buy groceries, register them for English classes, kids get registered for school, and we help them find permanent housing, which is really critical,” Petersen said. “We’ve been very fortunate, we haven’t been having a lot of trouble finding permanent housing, so it’s been kind of a win-win that way … the community has been great.”
They also help the families get medical treatment, which can range in severity, said Petersen.
“We have multiple health issues, whether it’s … gunshot wounds that haven’t been dealt with, broken bones that haven’t been set right, dental issues, vision issues, hearing loss — we try to deal with within the first few days,” Petersen said. “We’re very lucky here in Brandon … we have a lot of Arabic-speaking doctors and that makes it very easy for us … because they can communicate with the doctor in their first language, which is a sense of relief for them.”
Petersen said the Brandon community is unique in that private sponsors and government-assisted refugee programs work together as a community for the new families rather than separately.
“The extra volunteers are a huge help … we are really proud of how Brandon has come together as a community … they are the community’s families and we’ve really worked hard to make them feel like they are part of the community,” Petersen said.
For Armoush, helping the community that welcomed him is the least he can do.
“It’s our duty to (volunteer) … I have to help, there’s no second thought about it,” Armoush said.
Petersen said this has been a valuable learning experience.
“This isn’t just about us helping them, they’re helping us,” Petersen said. “They’re helping us to learn more about ourselves, learning more about our community, helping us expand our thoughts and live outside of the box for a minute … They want to be helping. They just don’t want to take, they want to give back.”
» edebooy@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @erindebooy