From left, Katherine Martinko, Aisha Alibrahim, Stacey Haugen, Mariam Alibrahim, and Penny Inkster.

Hub Staff

On Sunday, December 3 a small and warm group assembled at the Port Elgin United Church to listen to researcher Stacey Haugen’s presentation titled “Welcoming Communities: The Resettlement and Integration of Syrian Refugees in Rural Canada.”

The presentation was music to the attendees’ ears as members of the fund raising and sponsorship group, Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund (SSRF); interested residents as well as two of the young Syrian refugee women who now call Port Elgin and Saugeen Shores home were in attendance.

Expectedly Haugen’s work included a veritable supply of our government’s own vernacular with terms and short forms flowing freely as she spoke. There were references to the Settlement Program and RAP (Resettlement Assistance Program), SAHs (Sponsorship Agreement Holders), PSRs (Privately Sponsored Refugees), GARs (Government Assisted Refugees), and of course the IRCC themselves (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada).

It was earlier this spring that Haugen visited with our Syrian refugee family, private sponsors, service providers and other community members about the resettlement and integration into rural Canada. In all Haugen visited four rural regions across four provinces with the objective of understanding the benefits and challenges of this experience.

Haugen presented some of the findings that came out of the project:

- Without exception each sponsorship group spoke to a photo shown worldwide of the deceased young Alan Kurdi as the catalyst for their decision to sponsor.

- Even if sponsorship groups had members educated in the area of resettlement processes in Canada, finding information on and accessing relevant services was often difficult.

- Communities were welcoming and overall embraced the newcomers.

- The identified benefits of living in a rural community, by both sponsors and refugees, were similar across communities and included a sense of community, safety, minimal traffic, and a lower cost of living the community relative to urban centers.

- The identified challenges of living in a rural community, by both sponsors and refugees, were also similar across the communities and included a lack of public transportation and a lack of an Arab and/or Muslim community.

- Some refugee families have decided to stay permanently in their host communities while some of Haugen’s conclusions include the need for more longitudinal data on refugee resettlement in rural Canada and an important need to share the stories or rural communities and resettled refugees.

Haugen’s work will conclude with a submitted for publication academic article on these findings and conclusions.

Katherine Martinko a spokesperson for the SSRF voiced frustration with some aspects of the process, such as follow up, and remarked “how much it has been a privilege to be a part of the process.”

Martinko was quick to add how valuable and meaningful it is to tell their story. “I strongly believe in the role rural communities can play and yes I’m hoping for some policy (government) change,” she said.

Others in attendance wished it was easier to provide transportation to Georgian College to attend English as a second language classes. Penny Inkster wondered if there was a way for the 350 active urban and rural host communities to share information and if there was a way to secure more refugees.

Martinko agreed, adding that after the second family from the Congo the SSRF would be out of money. “It’s not easy to raise the money,” she said.

As the meeting wound down the fruit from all the sponsors sown seeds was in full view with Aisha Alibrahim and her younger sister Mariam engaging the group with confidence in their new found language. You could frame Aisha’s smile as to how proud she was to have her driver’s licence, how much she can help out with the family’s travel needs and how she has one year remaining in pursuit of her Canadian citizenship.

Attentative audience members at the Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund presentation December 3.