Charif Arfan keeps a video on his cellphone that shows his father dying in Syria, taken moments after he answered the door and was met with bullet. His brother was killed days earlier in the conflict.
Arfan fled the country and after spending four years in a refugee camp in Lebanon, recently arrived in Saskatoon.
“The war is continuing in my country and people get killed,” Arfan said. “The situation is getting worse and worse.”
More than four million Syrians have now left the country and are now registered as refugees. The Trudeau government has reaffirmed its promise to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada by the end of the year.
Saskatchewan's share would be about 2,500 refugees if the traditional arrangement is followed. Regina and Saskatoon would both receive about 1,000, while the remaining 500 would settle in Moose Jaw and Prince Albert. The exact numbers could be known by the end of the week.
Local organizations that work with refugees are preparing for a quick influx.
“We’re definitely gearing up,” said Darcy Dietrich of the Regina Open Door Society.
“We have an incredible array of formal and informal partners, so we’ve been checking in with each of those sectors; education and health and the Chamber, looking at long-term employment.”
Saskatchewan MP and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said refugees seeking to come to Canada will be subject to a screening process.
“They would conduct the necessary examination of all the relevant information to make sure that Canada’s security is respected,” Goodale said.
Based on a report by CTV Regina’s Wayne Mantyka
