[Image-1] For Syrian refugees, the 365-day time period to obtain assistance from the federal government is coming to an end. But if refugees in Nova Scotia still need help there’s one more place they can turn—the provincial government. It’s the surge of Syrian refugees that may prove particularly taxing for the province in 2017. While […]
Refugees
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We spoke to a Chronicle Herald writer about that refugee story
[Image-1] This past Friday the Chronicle Herald published an article detailing the alleged brutality of refugee children at a local elementary school. It was widely and strongly criticized. By Saturday night the most outrageous passage—which quoted an anonymous source who said a refugee child choked a classmate with a chain while yelling “Muslims rule the […]
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To my new Syrian friends: thank you for your kindness
[Image-1] To my new Syrian friends—who will never read this, as it is published at a time when you do not read English—thus it is addressed to greater Halifax, on your behalf. Your families only moved into my building a month ago, but I already feel like I have known you all forever. The last two […]
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Halifax to Paris, by way of Syria
[Image-1] “When you have drought, when people can’t grow their crops, they’re going to migrate into cities, and when people migrate into cities and they don’t have jobs, there’s going to be a lot more instability, a lot more unemployment and people will be subject to the types of propaganda that al-Qaeda and ISIS are […]
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Canada offers refuge, with conditions
[Image-1] It turns out Ottawa’s plan to resettle 25,000 Syrians by December 31 was a lofty goal. A little too lofty. The Trudeau government announced recently about 10,000 Syrians would be brought to Canada by the end of the year. Another 15,000 are to arrive at the end of February. The vast majority of Syrian […]
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Province launches 211 helpline for aiding Syrian refugees
[Image-1] Starting this week, Nova Scotians wishing to help in the resettlement of soon-to-arrive Syrian refugees can call 211 to offer assistance. The toll-free phone service is a community hub to organize ground support and compile a database of whatever items Nova Scotians are willing to donate. “This can include clothing, food, lodging or financial donations,” […]
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Canada owes justice to refugees
[Image-1] Alan Kurdi’s death on a Turkish beach has weighed heavily on the consciences of Canadians. The discovery that an NDP MP personally appealed to Immigration and Citizenship minister Chris Alexander on behalf of the Kurdi family has sparked moral outrage and a call to action. Ottawa must submit to the demands of human decency […]
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What can we do to help? Halifax council offers its support for Syrian refugees
[Image-1] Halifax wants to help. That was the message yesterday at Halifax Regional Council as mayor Mike Savage made an impassioned plea to support local aid efforts in settling refugees from the crisis in Syria. “There are hundreds of thousands—millions, perhaps—of refugees, migrants that are fleeing into Europe,” Savage said. “Everyone has been gripped by […]
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…while a Mexican couple faces deportation
Verónica and Oscar Velasco live in a basement apartment in Dartmouth, off a street named after a flower. Like many couples in the HRM, their apartment is littered with toys and books and other remnants of young children. Unlike other couples, however, they may face deportation from Canada. Verónica and Oscar fled Mexico as refugees […]
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Nepalese refugees welcomed to Halifax…
A group of Nepalese/Bhutanese refugees will start new lives and form a new immigrant community in Halifax, after spending nearly 20 years in refugee camps. Twelve government-sponsored refugees arrived last week, joining the 20 who arrived in May. “We’re assuming that we will get more,” says Sarah Cooper, settlement worker at the Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement […]