Defence minister describes emotion in meeting first wave of Syrian refugees

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally was present at the Toronto airport on Thursday to welcome the first batch of Syrian refugees to the country.

With much coaxing, a exhausted and bewildered little girl finally managed a sweet smile for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as she was handed a teddy bear.

“You are home”, Trudeau said to the passengers as they disembarked the military craft.

“You’re home. You’re safe at home now.”

And Trudeau was joined by his opposition critics in the welcoming group. A new poll by Forum Research this week revealed that 48 per cent of respondents supported the government’s refugee plans – but 44 per cent were opposed.

United Nations refugee spokesman Adrian Edwards says his agency applauds the speedy manner in which Canada is acting in implementing the humanitarian initiative announced late last month. Sponsors have had to raise just over 28,000 Canadian dollars for each family.

“Resettling refugees demonstrates our commitment to Canadians and the world that Canada understands we can and must do more”, said Trudeau.

“We suffered a lot”, said Kevork Jamkossian, who arrived with his wife, Georgina Zires, and their 16-month-old daughter, Madeleine. We also know that arts and culture can be a refuge, a celebration of diversity, and source of inspiration and connection.

The arrival of the first flight was highly anticipated in Canada.

In an attempt not to overwhelm the refugees, the general people was asked by the Canadian authorities not to come to the airport, but some well wishers did not prevent.

The building has been converted into a special processing center, where arriving refugees will not only go through the usual customs, immigration and health screenings, but will also be given all of the other paperwork necessary for their new lives, including public health insurance cards.

The 163 Syrians who landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Thursday night must have felt like they’d just won the lottery of life.

Another planeload of refugees is expected to arrive in Montreal on Saturday. Most will soon be headed to homes and apartments in the Toronto area that were arranged by their sponsors. The others are sponsored by Canadians in another part of Ontario as well as British Columbia and Alberta. “I came as a permanent resident, but when I met the families and saw the children that were coming out, you just saw the enthusiasm in their eyes and how appreciative that they were for what Canada is doing for them”.

Trudeau’s Liberal government scaled back the number of Syrian migrants it will accept by year end after the attacks in Paris sparked concern that the election promise to bring in 25,000 by December 31 would not allow enough time for security checks.

Canada is set to welcome 25,000 refugees by the end of February. Since the war began, more than 250,000 people have been killed and four million refugees have fled to Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.

“It’s not only about bringing the families over”, he said.