An excited crowd welcomed Sudbury's fourth family of Syrian refugees at the Sudbury Airport Wednesday morning.
Mohamed Al-Saeed, Yousra El-Rajas and their five children entered the airport terminal with cheers and signs that welcomed them to Greater Sudbury in English and Arabic.
Through translator Kamael Mina, Al-Saeed told media he was optimistic and hopeful his children – who are between the ages of six and 17 – will have a chance at a better future in Canada.
The Al-Saeed family lived south of the Syrian of Aleppo when the country's bloody civil war started.
Fearing for their safety they fled to Lebanon, where they stayed for several months before moving on to Turkey.
They lived in Turkey for three years where they did not have a great experience.
Al-Saeed made an application through the United Nations to emigrate to Canada, because he had heard how the country protects and respects human rights.
Sudbury's Kim McNab helped bring the family to Canada through an organization called Northern Hope, which is made up of members of various evangelical churches.
McNab said she wanted to help a Syrian family after she saw media coverage of a young boy who drowned along the shore of Turkey.
“That was just a reality check for me,” she said.
McNab attend a meeting about Sudbury's efforts to bring in Syrian refugees organized by former Mayor Jim Gordon.
From there she connected with local evangelical leaders, and through a meeting at Glad Tidings Church McNab and other volunteers started Northern Hope.
The group made an application through the federal government to split the costs in supporting a Syrian family during their first year in Sudbury.
McNab said they decided to host the Al-Saeed family because of their five children, and the opportunity to give them a better life.
Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre also welcomed the family to Sudbury, and said the government has struggled to keep up with demand for private sponsors to bring more refugees to Canada.
“That is a unique problem in the world,” he said.
Northern Hope has rented a home for the family near Ramsey Lake.
