From Syria with love

What words could possibly be used to describe his family's final days in Syria, wondered Antranik Kahkejian.

Here's the thing: it's tough to explain.

Bombings had left their apartment building in disarray. Crying.

The family was forced to leave their life and careers behind in Aleppo, the city they grew up in and the only one they had ever known. Sadness.

The vicious carnage of the raging Syrian civil war that pushed more than four million people from their homeland. Madness.

“In some ways, we were laughing and thinking, what is happening to Syria?” translated Neda Jansen on behalf of Antranik, one of Canada's newest permanent residents.

Antranik, and his five family members (wife Rema, daughter Tia, sister Sevan, and parents Eklas and Sarkis) recently arrived in the Bow Valley, three years after they fled the civil war in their Syrian homeland.

The Kahkejians, a six-member, three-generation Christian Armenian-Syrian family, arrived with assistance from the Bow Valley Syria Project and its dedicated members and volunteers.

The efforts of everyone involved has opened a new chapter for the Kahkejians in the Canadian Rockies when they were at their lowest point in life.

Sevan had lost faith in human compassion throughout her journey before she landed in Canada.

“I didn't think strangers helped each other, so when I came here, what really struck me is how much everyone is helping one another,” said Sevan, as translated by Jansen. “I want to thank Canada, even though it's a country that's so far away from where we are from. They have taken us in and welcomed us like no other.”

When the Kahkejians escaped from Syria in Oct. 2013, the circumstances were “very bad and very unsafe” and the civil war was already two years old.

“We were living right on the border between the state and the rebels,” said Antranik.

The conflicts of the Syrian Civil War ignited in 2011 and by 2013 had raged through the country to Aleppo - Syria's largest city at over two million people.

At the time, Syrian armed forces were engaging three rebel factions - one being ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

The Kahkejians lived a pretty normal life before the troubles in Syria. They all lived together, except for Rema - she and Antranik were engaged and not married at the time, but she lived close by in the same neighbourhood.

Antranik had his own physiotherapy practice after attending university and earning a degree.

Little sis' Sevan graduated high school, but she worked in retail instead of attending university to help with the family's income due to her father's ailing business.

As civil unrest raged on, finding work became more difficult and things were getting much more expensive in the country. Life was getting much more difficult for the Kahkejians, but not as hard as it was about to get.

The day they lost their home in the bombings, the Kahkejians had been away in a neighbouring village.

“We heard the big explosion,” said Antranik. “We weren't expecting it to be a building - we thought it might be a car bomb or a vehicle that exploded, so we went back to our neighbourhood.”

Confusion and questions began to arise as the Kahkejians, among a forming crowd, weren't allowed to go home. It was a safety precaution for officials to keep pedestrians out of the area.

The Kahkejians explained their situation to officials and were allowed to enter the site. But they had arrived at home to find a concrete ruin.

“We weren't sure which side (the bomb had came from), they were consistently coming from both sides,” said Antranik.

The family recovered some of its belongings in the wreck, looked around them, and started to plan their escape from Syria.

ESCAPE FROM SYRIA

... Sevan sees the next patrolled checkpoint dead ahead and her mind starts racing: someone might get beaten this time, or we could get robbed - she wonders if it's at this checkpoint where she's taken away from her family.

Checkpoints along the unsafe route south through Syria to their destination of Beirut, Lebanon were a nightmarish process.

Many border patrols had sprouted since war erupted and it was difficult to tell who was who - state or rebels.

Sevan and other Christian women knew about this potentially dangerous uncertainty and over the long, arduous journey they hid any religious memorabilia and covered themselves up “like Muslim women” for two reasons: It was expected of them, and it meant protection against a particular rebel faction they might encounter.

“If (the rebels) liked a woman, they would say, ‘God is great' three times and they were allowed to take that woman whether they were married or not. That's in their religion or in their culture. We did it to protect ourselves, so they couldn't see what we looked like,” said Sevan.

At one malevolent checkpoint, the fleeing group ran into rebels who took them captive for a short while. The men were beaten - Antranik was one - and their belongings stolen. It was only by chance the group managed to escape the rebels' clutches.

“There were planes that came by which, I believe, were from the government because I don't think these rebels had planes, and in that turmoil and kerfuffle we were able to escape.”

The family group made it to Beirut with the hope of a new beginning immersed in them; but it wasn't that way in the country that borders the southwest of Syria.

Work was sparse and difficult to come by in Lebanon.

“We were basically getting help from churches and some assistance from the UN, but we were disappointed that we didn't make any headway for a new life in Beirut,” said Antranik.

The Kahkejians' options ran low and they discovered information about becoming refugees with the United Nations.

It had been a ray of light, but the problem was, once they signed up as refugees, they were not allowed to work.

“The church was amazing and helped a lot, but it was all in kind, not money. We weren't able to rent, we weren't able to buy food, it was donations, but not enough to go to a place to live on.”

Sevan didn't sign up for refugee status with the UN due to a sickness, which turned out to be “a blessing in a way,” they said.

She did find work in retail and again was able to help her family with some cash for a few months when they were in a pinch.

Then Canada announced it was opening its doors to 25,000 Syrian refugees.

THE ARMENIAN CONNECTION

In talking to others in a similar situation, the family found out Canada was accepting refugees from Syria.

The Kahkejians were very excited about this, but it quickly dawned on the Armenian-Syrian family that they didn't know anybody in Canada who could sponsor them.

A sponsorship agreement with the Government of Canada would be a private entity supporting refugees for one year (housing, income support, settlement support).

Even after the 25,000 spots were filled and gone, a resourceful Antranik kept researching and seeking opportunities for himself and his family.

Canada then committed to accepting 10,000 more Syrian refugees in early 2017.

“So I sent an email to (Calgary Catholic Immigration Society),” said Antranik. “By luck, an Armenian-Iraqi in the organization named Anoush (Newman), responded directly ... by coincidence, Anoush was talking to the Bow Valley Syria Project about helping them find a family to sponsor and bring here. She made the introduction and that's how the connection happen - it was lucky timing.”

The Bow Valley Syria Project (BVSP), formed in November 2015, came together with a goal to share the peace, security, beauty and opportunity in the valley.

“Our obligation is to provide living support, and settlement support, to help launch this family in Canada, and get them on their feet so that they can become fully functioning members of Canadian society,” said Debra Hornsby, BVSP chair.

BVSP submitted a sponsorship application through the United Church of Canada, with support from the congregation of Ralph Connor Memorial United Church.

About 80 per cent of the volunteers were from outside the church.

“The community response had over 170 people volunteer to help right away and were very generous. Obviously the Bow Valley wanted to see it happen,” said Hornsby.

BVSP started to raise funds in Dec. 2015 and within a month reached its target and had a line on a home. They had everything except a family to help.

“We were looking to find a family to sponsor with the goal of bringing them to Canmore and just happened to be talking to Anoush that day to get advice on how to proceed. We asked if she knew anyone and she had spoken to Antranik that day, so it was an amazing coincidence,” said Hornsby.

A NEW BEGINNING

Over the next 10 months the process of bringing the Kahkejians to the Bow Valley was a waiting game.

“Canada is the only country in the world that allows private citizens and groups to sponsor people to whom they're not related. Canadians can be really proud of this,” said Hornsby.

Once they landed in Canada, every family member became permanent residents of Canada.

On Sept. 26, Sevan, who helped her family as needed, was greeted by strangers now helping her at the Calgary airport. She was the first member of the Kahkejians to make her way to Canada and become a resident.

She said she is already seeing more opportunities for herself here.

“In the Middle East, it's way more balanced towards the men finding opportunities,” said Sevan. “I feel like here there is so much opportunity for women.”

Sevan was followed by Antranik, Rema, baby Tia, and Eklas and Sarkis, who arrived on Oct. 26 and 27.

“The hardest thing is travelling with a baby,” Antranik joked. “They must have picked every flight with a lot of children because every child was crying at the same time and I had a headache.”

Joking aside, Antranik said his goal is becoming a responsible and productive community member and citizen.

“Thanks to the Government of Canada and (BVSP) I hope one day I will be able to return this and do this for someone as well,” he said.

The United Nations' Antonio Guterres, high commissioner for refugees, declared the Syrian refugee crisis the “biggest humanitarian emergency of our era.” Over 4.4 million people have fled Syria since 2011.