Province of Canada is Assisting Refugees
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May 6, 2022Sometimes the generosity of our Province/Region is overlooked in the day-to-day busy-ness of our Redemptorist communities. I would like to give one example of a donation that is making a significant difference in the lives of a number of refugees.
Last May (2021) we donated $100,000 to the Office of Refugees for the Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT). Other donors added $15,000 to the sum. We have worked with ORAT over the years and not only are they trustworthy, but they are also efficient while understanding the complex bureaucracy of Immigration Canada.
As many of you know, members of the St. Patrick’s Parish Social Justice Committee joined us in sponsoring a number of refugees over the past ten years (as have other Redemptorist parishes); the most recent of which were George, Tahira and Joyce, Pakistani Christians whom I met in Thailand at the General Chapter in 2016.
Despite pandemic restrictions and employment limitations, the family is now settled in Scarborough with both parents at work as Personal Support Workers and Joyce flourishing in Grade 8 at Little Flower Catholic School.
In conjunction with ORAT, we asked that our donation be used to assist other Pakistani Christians caught in Thailand. But since St. Pat’s refugee committee could not possibly sponsor all these refugees upon their arrival in Canada, we negotiated with ORAT to find parishes or other sponsorship groups who would accept this responsibility—but we discovered that the fund-raising ability of these groups has been limited over the past two years.
As a result, we agreed with ORAT that the groups could solicit as much money as they could raise (30-50% seems to be the average) and we would supplement as many as we could with the donated monies.
The process of bringing refugees to Canada is complicated. Briefly, we (or the sponsorship group) has to raise and lock in a certain amount of money for the first year in Canada, the amount depending upon the size of the family.
This is not cheap as, for example, a single refugee’s costs are set at $18,300, a family of five at $35,000. Meanwhile all the paper work has to be filled out for the refugees (which is often complicated by passports that have expired or documents that they cannot obtain from Pakistan).
These documents are submitted to Canadian Immigration and then a wait of (many) months takes place. The refugees then learn that they have an interview date, which if they pass opens them to come to Canada after they pass a medical exam. The final step is the arrangement for flights to Canada (which the refugees will eventually have to re-pay) and an arrival date for the sponsoring group to leap into action.
Earlier this month I met with ORAT’s Deacon Rudy Ovcjak to discuss progress. He pointed out that, so far, there are two families (one of 4, another of 2) who have been interviewed and are awaiting travel documents and arrival dates from Immigration Canada (and we don’t know what effect the war in Ukraine will have here).
There is another family of 5 awaiting interviews. And, if we can squeeze it in financially, one more family of 5 that is filling out the papers.
Now, that may not seem like many refugees for the money, but one must realize that this is not just a matter of getting them to Canada. It is truly a sponsorship plan that helps them find lodging, get proper documentation, enter study programs of English or job preparation as needed, of acclimatizing to our cold, and getting familiar with Canadian ways and customs. And, as you know, the cost of living is going up steadily.
These refugees are people who have been hiding in Thailand for up to seven years. It is too dangerous to return to Pakistan and they cannot travel elsewhere. Despite all the bureaucratic procedures, which often seem molasses slow, entering this process gives the people a powerful sense of hope. And from my experience of refugees settled now in Canada, there is tremendous satisfaction in seeing them adjust and flourish and live with great gratitude and their ongoing contributions to Canada.
I do not usually make appeals for donations but given this picture of assisting refugees, I would suggest that if anyone would like to make a contribution to this particular plan, I would ensure that the donations go to ORAT so that they can broaden their outreach to those in need.
