Syrians in Brandon welcome Assad’s ouster

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This article was published 10/12/2024 (379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Events unfolding in Syria over the weekend had many Brandon residents of Syrian origin rejoice as they watched news of rebels overthrowing the authoritarian government of President Bashar al-Assad, who has fled Syria and sought political asylum in Russia.

Syrian expats living in Brandon watched anxiously as the country was overrun by rebel factions last week, following 14 years of being riven by civil strife.

James Forsythe, a retired Brandon University drama professor, told the Sun the news made him recollect the experiences shared by Syrian refugee families he interviewed in Brandon six years ago, when he wrote a play about the lives of Syrian refugees in Canada.

“I heard some stories that would chill your blood,” Forsythe said. “People have absolutely no idea (about) the horror that these people went through. Women and children arrested, confined, tortured, separated. It was hell. Whatever you think was bad that happened, multiply it by 10 and you’re going to get close.”

Entitled “To Stand Again,” the one-act play with a cast of five actors and a musician and was performed in Montreal in 2018 by a theatre company known to Forsythe.

However, the research that went into writing the play started in Brandon. Forsythe said he spoke with more than a dozen families who had come to Canada and then Manitoba at the beginning of 2015 to escape the civil war in Syria between al-Assad and rebel factions pushing for a democratic government.

With news of the war reaching a definitive conclusion that resulted in the president fleeing the country, Forsythe was among many local Syrians cheering the turn of events.

“I can’t believe it,” Forsythe said. “I can’t believe it took so long to get rid of him and on the other hand, clearly the Syrian army did not stand and fight.”

A Syrian-born man, who is in his late 30’s and did not want to be identified, told the Sun he arrived in Brandon in 2016. He said it makes him happy to see people in his home country “celebrating everywhere by cheering, singing and dancing.”

“It’s been a moment that people have been waiting for, for more than 13 years,” he said. “I’m not going overboard by saying, it’s like a dream come true. We always had hope that something good would happen.”

The man said he was born and raised in a city in southern Syria, became a teacher, and in 2013 fled to Jordan where he lived for three years. His mother, brother and two sisters are still in Jordan, and just a few months ago, his wife joined him in Brandon.

The decision to leave Syria was necessitated by safety reasons, he said.

“I saw people being arrested, and then people coming out of a prison dead, so it wasn’t safe. And then we started to see people armed all around town, so our feeling of safety was just not there anymore,” he added.

The man and his wife are part of a group of just over 200 Syrian refugees who have settled in Brandon since around 2016, said Hannah Holt, community outreach manager with Westman Immigrant Services (WIS).

“We did have an influx — a high number of Syrian arrivals when we first received our resettlement assistance program contract from the government,” Holt pointed out.

“We have just over 200 hundred Syrians of all ages just in Brandon. We typically don’t have refugee newcomers go outside of Brandon because we’re the resettlement assistant office, so those people are only here,” she said.

Under the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), the Government of Canada helps Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs) and other eligible clients by providing direct financial support, as well as funding to settlement organizations.

Holt added that WIS is one of 42 other agencies across the country that receive funds to help get all their newcomers — including Syrians, settled.

Assistance includes picking them up from the airport, placing them in temporary accommodations until a permanent place is found.

“So, it’s really intense support in their first six to eight weeks,” Holt said, adding, “We’ll assess their language, and if necessary, place them into English classes. Our other supports include help with setting up a bank account, understanding finances, creating settlement plans, and getting them connected to their religious communities.”

The Syrian man told the Sun that the settlement program helped him. After taking classes at Brandon University, he is now working full-time.

“We’re thankful, and we’re safe, and we appreciate the chance that Canada gave to me to continue my studies and find a job. I’m having all the chances that any person would like to have.

“This would not have been possible in Syria,” he said.

His immediate family is in Jordan, and he doesn’t have any friends or relatives left in Syria. And while he said he would never go back; he will always be watching for what happens next in his home country.

“I see what everybody else sees on social media and T.V., right? The president who killed thousands of people, who is the cause behind everyone leaving, is gone. That much we know, but we still don’t know 100 per cent what will happen now, or to come. I wish I knew all the information.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» X: @enviromichele