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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-02-03, Page 88 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, February 3, 2016 Ethiopian refugees are here Seaforth Melady not impressed with Trudeau Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor A little jet lagged and unprepared for the below freezing temperatures associated with Canada's bleak win- ter months, the Ethiopians have finally reached their destination, the Seaforth sponsor's are thrilled but wish they were treated equivalent to the Syrians. Landing on Canadian soil January 21, the family of five, mother Ambiya, 33, and her four children Ahmed, 9, Yusuf, 7, Fatuma, 5, and Sayida, 3, made the more than 12,000 km expe- dition for a better life. Housed in a refugee camp of 3000-4000 people for the last few years in the hot cli- mate countryside of Africa, upon arrival, by their attire it was if they were still there. The mother in san- dals, three children in shoes and the youngest had no shoes at all, instead just a pair of socks, according to the founder of the Melody -Powers Sea - forth Refugee Sponsorship Group, Brian Melady, "this is not the Cana- dian way to treat different nations." "The three-year-old with socks, she had no shoes. The point is peo- ple deserve to be welcomed in a warm fashion when they come to Canada. Everyone deserves the warm welcome not just Syrians," expressed Melady who also men- tioned that there were refugees from Syria who were fully clothed in win- ter wear on the same plane as the Ethiopians. "The fact that we have policies that exist (and) we can announce to the media there's winter boots and coats, Syrians welcome to Canada and we can't extend $60-$80 for a winter outfit." As it stands, approximately 14,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Can- ada, tripling the intake in less than a month. This main focus has been undertaken by PM Jus- tin Trudeau and is what Melady feels is shafting other refugee support. "Why don't these people like hate us like everybody does at home? How can we come so far for these white people to show us so much love," — stated Melady relaying what Ambiya had told Rhil. "The Ethiopians are pushed aside, go worry about your own clothes, that is not the Canada (ian) fair way," Melady said. In a phone interview on January 26, he went on to say, if some costs were taken care of by the govern- ment so that other donors like his organization had some breathing room to put the funds elsewhere this humanitarian effort would be much easier. At the moment, numerous news outlets across the country have reported that Trudeau has waived the usual payback loan known as the Immigration Loans Program. It is a loan offered by the government for immigrant families, afterwards they are required to pay back the advance with interest. According to Melady, the line of credit available can be up to $10,000 per household. "I can understand maybe why some of the response to this refugee crisis isn't sitting well with people because this idea of pulling all our support 100 per cent behind one nation when there is so many people who would also welcome our help, stated Melady. And he also said after the PM declared that Canada would be waiving the fees, Melady said he waited patiently for the announce- ment to include other nations, but it never came. Currently Melady and his partner Vicki Powers are sharing their home in Dublin with the family of five until they are stable enough to transition into a world they are far from accus- tomed to. Coming from a country filled with hundreds of thousands of refugees and their camp in Logiya, Ethiopia, which is densely populated also, the family is slowly getting used to a nutritional life-style compared to the malnourished habitat they were living in less than two weeks ago. Melady told the Expositor that in Ethiopia fresh bread is a main com- ponent to every meal. "After seeing our bread machine, which is a very modern appliance, to spit out the most valuable piece of food that they could possibly imag- ine," he said. "They wouldn't even have thought Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING The 140th Annual Meeting of the Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company will be held at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 21, 2016 for the presentation of the Annual Report, to elect Directors and to transact any business that may rightly come before the meeting. Nominations will be received for the election of two Directors for a three year term. The Directors whose term of office expires are Joe Chaffe and Morris Willows. Joe Chaffe will stand for reelection. Morris Willows is retiring from the Board after serving for 21 years as a Director. Article 22: Any person wishing to seek election or re-election as a Director must file his/her intention to stand for election in writing with the President & CEO of the Corporation in person at least thirty days in advance of the Annual Meeting or Special General Meeting called for the purpose of electing Directors. The 2015 Financial Statements for Usborne & Hibbert Mutual will be posted to the company's website. Copies will be available at the company office, 507 Main Street South, Exeter, Ontario. Jack Hodgert Shelagh Cleary BA, FCIP Chair President & CEO '. 1 1 11 / 1 Contributed photo The Ethiopian refugee family, mother Ambiya, 33, and her four children Ahmed, 9, Yusuf, 7, Fatuma, 5, and Sayida, 3. to use butter, jams or peanut butter, they just wanted bread." Melady knew the altruistic trek might be halted by a language bar- rier seeing as the family is unfamiliar with the English language. Aware of the culture shock the family was about to experience, the sponsor group brought a translator by the name of Rhil who was also an immi- grant. Rhil left her country 15 years ago with her then six-year-old child to experience the Canadian dream. Ambiya's primary language is Afar and is only spoken by her Afar Tribe with a population of approximately 1.5 million people. However, she picked up Amharic in the Ethio- pian Refugee Camp, which is how she and Rhil were able to converse. "We wanted to bring someone that spoke their language because we are dealing with a single mother and her four kids, we wanted someone that was perhaps motherly, said Melady. Since there was a full entourage of helpers and other interpreters, the group packed in two vehicles to meet the family. The special day, due to customs, came with a three-hour delay with the tired family making their way through the airport termi- nal to meet the organization for the first time. The mother in a totally dif- ferent place seemed timid and rather scared, stated, Melady, however the kids came with hugs and kisses as if they "knew us forever;' he said. The meet and greet at the airport carried on later than expected. Real- izing the little amount of time the interpreter had to spend with the family everybody thought it would be a wise decision if Rhil stayed over- night. Upon arriving to Melady's house, he was shocked at what the interpreter said back to him. "Why don't these people like hate us like everybody does at home? How can we come so far for these white people to show us so much love," stated Melady relaying what Ambiya had told Rhil. "I keep rolling that in my head." Now that the family has become somewhat comfortable Melady called the camp to inform them that everything went well and that the Ethiopians are in good hands. This was positive news, considering the Afar Tribe's closeness and caring for each member. About five minutes later Afar members from Toronto called. Throughout the day more called from all over Ontario and far- ther including Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Guelph and Calgary. The family's busy schedule also included a trip to St. James Catholic School where the children were introduced to their new principal and some of the students. They are expected to start attending half days and gradu- ally building up their confidence to where they can be relaxed enough to participate in full days. "They are not these desperate starving kids we see on TV charities that try to pull at your heart strings for money," mentioned Melady. "These are lively kids with smiles in their eyes that are keen to learn, edu- cation in Ethiopia is highly respected." According to the Melady-Powers Seaforth Refugee Family Sponsor- ship Group funding page they are currently sitting at $9,500. To help the organization and put them one step closer to their initial goal of $20,000, there will be a Welcome to Seaforth Benefit Breakfast at the Seaforth Agricultural Society February 21. From 8 a.m.-12 p.m.