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FOURTH LINE AUTO G O O D YEAR Glen Oaks M e m o ria l G ardens $ r .J M For Ail Your Car's Needs rive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop 559 Speers Road (905) 842-3001 FOCUS#^ O fficial M ed ia S oonsor Official Media Sponsor A beautiful landm ark cemetery' offering a full range o f services including traditional ground interm ent, indoor mausolea a nd Oakville's only cremation centre. Forfurther information call or visit N inth Line at Dundas St., Oakville 905-257-1100 w w w .glcnoaks.ca Editor: Wilma Blokhuis Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com W E D N E S D A Y . \ ' ( ) Y E M B E R 2 8 . 2( X>I · P a £ e C l Family reunion Two-year journey from Colombia ends in Oakville By W ilm a B lokhuis B E A V E R F O C U S E D IT O R Angela Ramirez throws her arms up into the air, looks up at the sky, and shouts "Thank You Canada!" She has good reason to shout. On Nov. 7, she and her husband Mario Gallego, who both hail from Colombia, were reunited after a twoyear separation, with their three daugh ters Luisa, 15, Paulina, 12, and Maria Isabel, 5. And, on Dec. 21, the couple will cel ebrate their 17th wedding anniversary. In Colombia, it's customary for a wife to retain her maiden name. "It will be very special anniversary," says Ramirez. "I 'm so pleased our fami ly is finally reunited. "We missed the kids," she said. "My five-year-old doesn't remember her father." For Ramirez, immigrating to Canada is a dream come true. "When I was eight years old, some body gave me a Canadian flag, and I have since dreamed of coming here. But I never thought I would actually be com ing here. I love you Canada." The family's journey to escape secu rity problems in their native Colombia began more than two years ago. Colombia is a Spanish speaking country in the northern area of South America. Gallego was first to arrive from Colombia, by air, on Aug. 12, 1999, leaving his wife and family behind. He took the first step to bringing his family to Canada, fleeing both government and guerrilla forces in Colombia.' "Our lives were in danger," he said through an interpreter. "Our family was having security problems. Several fami lies were leaving at the same time we did. "Because of the war and civil strife, life in Colombia is very difficult," Gallego continued. "If conditions were good, Colombia could be a beautiful country - just like Canada." In Colombia, Gallego and Ramirez owned a company that sold fish and seafood products to the hospitality industry and supermarkets. His wife arrived, also by air, about three months later, on Dec. 7, 1999. "I had to leave my children behind," she said. Their three daughters stayed with her mother in M edellin, Colombia, for almost two years, waiting to be reunited with their parents. "I had no choice but to leave the chil dren," said Ramirez, who seized the opportunity to leave Colombia once her visa was ready. In October 2000 they were told their landed immigrant status was granted. The arrival of the documents is immi nent, but by press time, they had not yet arrived. "When we first came, we were told we would not be able to bring our chil dren here," said Ramirez. Fearing the worst - that the children would not be able to leave Colombia Gallego and Ramirez were put in touch with Oakville MP Bonnie Brown's office about a year ago. "We had to leave our children when we came, because we didn't know if they would be accepted as convention refugees," Ramirez continued, adding they had received assistance from a Toronto immigration lawyer, and Brown's office. "Once we were accepted as conven tion refugees, we included the children in our landed immigration status peti tion, and when that was approved, it included the children," said Ramirez. "But the children couldn't come right away. The government still had to process their situation in Colombia." "We were told in late October that our petition was successful, and we sent the airfare to bring the children to Canada," said Ramirez. She and her hus band had saved enough money from their business to fly their daughters to Canada. Their initial worries about the chil dren - who spoke only Spanish - getting lost enroute from Colombia to Canada proved to be no problem. Their flight took them from Colombia to Panama and Cuba, both Spanish speaking coun tries, before being met by their parents at Pearson International Airport. "I was a little worried about how they would manage," admitted Ramirez. The children were granted a special permit to avoid any further delays in bringing them to Canada. Their daughters had often expressed their eagerness to be reunited with their parents. "We are happy that Bonnie Brown was able to get the permit to bring the children here, despite us not having our landed immigrant papers yet," said Ramirez. "Now she's expediting our landed immigrant application." The couple chose Canada because of its better quality of life and respect for P eter C. M cC usker · Oakville beaver Mario Gallego and Angela Ramirez with daughters Luisa (left) Paulina (right) and Maria Isabel on mom's lap. human rights, explained Gallego. "Canadians not only opened their door to us, but also their hearts," added Ramirez. "We're very grateful to Canada for accepting people like us and offering us a better life," said Gallego. The couple came as refugees and stayed with friends in Oakville - friends who put them in touch with the Halton Multicultural Council. There they met Willie Campos, who speaks Spanish. He acted as interpreter for this story. Campos has provided assistance to this family in their quest for landed immigrant status and in establishing themselves in their new home. Campos is one of many HMC volunteers who assist several new families immigrating to Canada and settling here, providing assistance in their native languages. "We felt lost, not being able to speak any English," said Gallego. HMC pro vided translation services, English les sons, helped them find a doctor, and pro vides assistance with obtaining their landed immigrant status. The family is renting the main floor of a house. They currently attend LINC Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada classes at HMC, as often as they can. Prior to being accepted as conven tion refugees, Gallego and Ramirez received English instruction from HMC volunteers. Their three daughters took English lessons before enrolling in school. Luisa starts school tomorrow, entering Grade 9 at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. The two younger daughters started at St. Marguerite d 'Youville School last Thursday, Paulina in Grade 8 and Maria Isabel in Kindergarten. "I want to be a doctor," said Luisa. "I also want to be a doctor," added Paulina. Here for only a few weeks, the cou ple's two oldest daughters are already impressed with Canada. Using the English she has also learned at HMC, Luisa expressed how happy she is to be in Canada. "I'm very happy here, it's beautiful, big, the people are very nice, the streets are very clean, (and) it's peaceful." However, the couple don't want to children to lose their Spanish roots. "We want them to speak two languages, English and Spanish," said their mother. HMC assisted Gallego and Ramirez in establishing their own business without landed immigrant papers they are legally unemployable. "HMC was going to help us find work, but we were told we needed to obtain landed immigrant status first," said Gallego. They decided not to wait. "We got help from HMC to start our business, to learn English, to help us prepare our income tax return . . . the community in general has helped us," said Gallego. They launched G. Cleaning General Services in August 2000. HMC mem bers have sent a lot of work his way, and in return, Gallego has done some volun teer work as his way of giving back. "We want to repay Canada when the time comes," said Ramirez. "We want to give back everything Canada has given us." Gallego and Ramirez have already volunteered for the Salvation Army, helped HMC organize its Canada Day celebrations, got involved with the Carousel of Nations Latin American pavilion, did electrical work for the Canadian Cancer Society's Oakville office, and decorated HMC's Burlington office. "We want to be active in the commu nity, contribute to the community," said Gallego. "We are grateful to HMC and we told them we want to be productive members of the community." Their business is "progressing well" and they have plans to buy a van. and some tools. Right now, an old car serves as the company - and family - vehicle. "But now that we have our kids, we'll be needing the van," added Ramirez. "I'm a handyman," said Gallego proudly, using the English he's already learned. He does painting, carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, lays carpets, and other odd jobs. He can be reached at 905-842-7750. "Canada is a very good country, and I'm happy my family is here," Ramirez concluded. "Thank you Canada and thank you God." h o l/ o ,, y Q U E E N FO R A DAY.'! T he Holiday season is always such a busy time o f the year. W hat, with all the shopping, cooking, trying to get an appointm ent for your hair, nails, facial, massage, personal training, and just finding a parking spot in Oakville. Well, the Studio decided to do something about this situation. O ne o f our members will be crowned Q ueen fo r U D u y . Here is how it works. All you have to do to participate is be a member as o f Dec. I I , 2001. Every member' s name will be entered into a draw to win the following dream package: % Use o f a 28 foot white limousine for 12 hours - courtesy o f W hite Shadow Limousine (you don't have to worry about the parking situation, your driver will follow you around. Take the drudge out o f shopping.) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Personal Training Session - courtesy o f The Studio (with the trainer o f your choice) Massage therapy - courtesy o f The Studio (Monika is famous for her massages) Lunch for 6 - courtesy of Seasons Restaurant Dinner for 6 - courtesy of The Cafe Galleria A full set of acrylic nails - courtesy o f Nails by Candace A full makeover - courtesy o f Rick from Textures Salon A 2 hour Spa session - courtesy o f Sanctuary Medispa A $250.00 gift certificate - courtesy o f Shoetique (The Sole of Oakville) A $250.00 gift certificate - courtesy of Enza Unique (for the fashion forward woman) The Draw will take place on Dec. I I , 2001 at 12:00 noon at the Studio 8 s !k % § Best Wishes - Maria, Dirk and Staff. F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n please call (9 0 5 ) 8 4 9 -1 9 1 9 183 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville, Ontario L6K 1E7 (Just East of Dorval) w w w .b o d y sh a p in g stu d io .c o m