Syrian refugees reflect on a decade of war and their new lives in the Toronto area
Newcomers share stories of rebuilding their lives after fleeing the horror of the Syrian civil war
The heady scent of grilled spiced meat and vegetables pours out of the kitchen at Aleppo Kebab in Scarborough, as the owner, Zakaria Al Mokdad, readies for the lunch rush.
Despite the pandemic, the restaurant is busy and the Syrian refugee is grateful.
"When we decided to go to Canada, I was scared my family wouldn't adapt to life in Canada, but now I'm so proud," he said.
"My family is happy here."
This month marks 10 years since the conflict in Syria began. In 2011, protests against President Bashar Al-Assad's regime escalated into a civil war that has since levelled cities, devastated the country's economy and, according to the United Nations, caused 5.6 million people, including Mokdad and his family, to flee.
But it wasn't until 2015 that the photo showing the tiny body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi on a beach in Turkey made international headlines, sparking outrage over the human impact of the conflict, and showing the world just how desperate many Syrians were to find a new life elsewhere. The little boy drowned with his mother and brother in the Mediterranean Sea when an inflatable boat carrying Syrian refugees capsized.
WATCH | Syrian refugees reflect on a decade of war and their new lives in the GTA:
The boy's family was hoping to settle in Canada, and his story turned the plight of Syrian refugees into an issue in the election that brought Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals to power that year. Canada promised to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015. Since then, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says over 73,000 of them have settled in this country.
Zakaria Al Mokdad
Zakaria Al Mokdad's journey to Toronto started in 2012. With bombs falling around them in Busra, Syria, Al Mokdad and his wife carried their two young children and walked for three hours to the Jordanian border. Al Mokdad says they did what they could to allay their kids' fears amid the bombardment.
"Just we telling them that it's nothing too crazy, just some fireworks outside, just to make them calm."
In 2016, private sponsors helped the family come to Canada, where they learned English and worked over the years to open their restaurant, Aleppo Kebab.
The restaurant is a smaller version of the 300-person eatery Al Mokdad owned in Syria. One day, he hopes to have several locations around Toronto.
He and his family have applied for citizenship and are awaiting their test.
The Akeel family
The Akeel family arrived in Toronto three years ago.
"Our life has changed 100 per cent since we leave Syria," explained Rania Akeel, a mother of four.
Rebuilding a life from scratch has come with some sacrifice. The family gave up their shop, house and left their relatives behind.
Now in Toronto, Rania is upgrading her credentials to become a teacher. Her husband, Khaled, has enrolled in English classes at George Brown College and is hoping to one day open his own business.
The couple say their sacrifice is worth it; their four children are thriving in Canada; winning scholarships, learning to play instruments, speaking Arabic, French and English and making friends.
"It was kind of difficult at first because we couldn't speak English," said 12-year-old Alma.
"We didn't know how to introduce ourselves, but I started studying at home extra English so I could make progress [faster] at school."
But the lack of progress over the last decade in Syria weighs on Rania and Khaled, and they're concerned for relatives still there.
"We are always living in fear because we are always thinking about them, their safety."
Ten years on, the conflict in Syria is at a virtual stalemate. Al-Assad remains in power over much of the country, while the economy struggles, hobbled by a decade of war.
According to the United Nations, more than 13 million people are in need in Syria. The World Food Program estimates nearly 60 per cent of the population suffers from food insecurity and hunger — a figure that's doubled since 2018.
Hanen Nanaa
For Hanen Nanaa, 22, the move to Toronto has created opportunities she may not have had otherwise.
"I noticed that as a woman here ... I can speak up and speak up for the voiceless."
And she's done just that. The university student is an active volunteer for various community initiatives and runs a books, art and music collective for youth.
"I feel grateful that I'm safe, my family is safe," she said. "But it also motivates me to keep working for these people."
Khaled Abdulwahed
Khaled Abdulwahed, 27, says volunteering upon arriving in the GTA helped him find community.
He came to the Toronto area five years ago alone in the middle of winter, unable to speak the language.
"This one was the most difficult thing for me, because I'm a social person," he said.
He says it took him seven months before he started to feel settled in Toronto.
Now a mechanic's apprentice and avid soccer player, he's known jokingly in his community as the "Syria mayor of Toronto," often spotted chatting with neighbours.
"The best thing for me here is I'm feeling safe," he said.
Vanig Garabedian
Like many refugees, the need for safety was what finally forced Vanig Garabedian and his family to flee.
As a male gynecologist and obstetrician, he says, his name was put on a beheading list and in May 2013, his clinic was destroyed by missiles.
"We were living under bombardment but I couldn't be sure that the next day we are going to wake up again."
The Garabedians were on Canada's first government-sponsored plane to arrive in Toronto in 2015.
When they were welcomed upon arrival by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario's then-premier Kathleen Wynne, Garabedian says he thought it was a good sign.
Garabedian says he hopes to give back and contribute to the community and country that he says has given him so much.
"I expected to integrate into Canadian health system as a physician. It hasn't happened yet, but it will happen."