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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 24, 2016 | 18 Making a home in Oakville is a dream come true for Syrian family continued from p.11 "That was really ugly actually. I had a lot of friends from India and Pakistan and they could bring their families no problem." Abdelkader then spoke with his cousin, Bassem Saimeh, an accountant who lives in Oakville. The year was 2015 and Saimeh was enthusiastic about the coming Canadian election in which the Liberal Party of Canada was promising to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada if elected. Abdelkader and his family jumped on this opportunity and applied to come to Canada in December 2015. An appointment with the Canadian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon followed in June 2016. In October, the family learned the application was accepted. "I was so happy," said Abdelkader. "At the same time, I was upset that I had to leave my parents in Syria, but I had to think about my wife and children. There was no way they (the children) could grow up healthy in Syria." Abdelkader and his family were brought into the country through the efforts of his cousin and private sponsorship in which five friends and acquaintances, supported by approximately 20 others, chose to come together and raise the funds to make this family's new start possible. Among the main sponsors were Hilary Masemann and Oakville resident Unaiza Karim. Karim spoke to the Oakville Beaver about her reasons for deciding to help a refugee family. "Back in autumn, myself and anyone I spoke to were just shell-shocked by the images of these people having to leave their homes," said Karim. "We really thought we are living such comfortable lives and I don't know how these people are managing given the things they are facing. There was just a constant bombardment of these images and these stories and really, we decided we couldn't just watch this without doing something." The family has been overwhelmed by their reception. They were forced to leave virtually everything behind in Damascus, but donors from across the GTA have come through with furniture for the new apartment, toys for the children and more. While the children didn't have a chance to go trick-or-treating, having arrived in Canada Oct. 31 (Halloween), those around them made sure they got plenty of candy. Zaid and Mazen are now in school, and while interacting with the other students is challenging because they don't speak English yet, Abdelkader says it is just a matter of time until they pick up the language. On top of that, the love of soccer and play appears to be a universal language among children and the boys are making friends. "I was concerned about the children's school, but it was perfect," said Rawan. "They like it. They had some difficulties because there is no way to communicate with their friends, but they are adjusting." Abdelkader said he is in classes to improve his English skills and hoping to re-enter the workforce soon, possibly a career in sales. "I want to thank the people of Canada for this opportunity, which they have given to us. I don't think there is any other country that has this private sponsorship program and without this, we couldn't have come," he said. "I consider myself and my family Canadians now. This is our country and we will do our best to make a successful life for us and for the rest of the community." Saimeh says having Abdelkader and his family now living in Oakville, just a few blocks away from his home, is like a dream come true. "It's a dream we worked on and now we've woken up and it's reality," he said. "I'm still in disbelief a little bit." As a Maid Right owner you have my quality guarantee with every clean. FREE Save $25 off your Schedule 3 cleans, 1st regular service clean $ and 50 off your 4th get the 4th free* SM SPECIAL $ * 75 Off CLEAN *Receive the 4th of four cleans at no charge up to $125 Not valid on prior services. *Not valid value. on prior services. Not redeemable for redeemable cash. Applies to cash. new customers only. Not for Applies to new customers only. SPRING CLEANING FALL CLEANING SPECIAL OFFER: 289.809.9823 (XXX) XXX-XXXX localurladdressgoeshere.com Oakville.MaidRight.com Same Reliable Owners Clean Every Visit Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products Colour-Coded Cloths Reduce Cross Contamination EnviroShield® Whole Home Disinfecting Strongest Guarantee In the Industry ©2015 Maid Right Franchising LLC. Maid Right and JAN-PRO International are subsidiaries of Premium Franchise Brands LLC.