Agnieszka Krawczynski had an article published in the B.C. Catholic in June, 2016. The article describes the events leading up to the arrival of the Sayegh family in Canada. As a reminder of the terrible ordeal Albert Sayegh brought to Canada a shred of shrapnel embedded in his flesh on his left side. He fled Syria with his wife and three children in 2014, a few months before the war’s four-year mark, and landed here in Canada this spring. Sayegh, a mechanical engineer, had a successful career that sent him on business trips around the world. Nahla, his wife was terrified to leave the house, there was so much danger and shooting.

The family became refugees on Christmas Day in 2014. They landed in Jordan and lived there for 14 months, waiting for approval to come to Canada. Thanks to Canadian Martyrs Parish, they landed at Vancouver airport Feb. 23, 2016. Their teen aged daughter Lydia says that now “everything is good”. Father Richard Au, pastor of Canadian Martyrs, heard about the family thanks to friendly ties with the bishop of Jerusalem.

The parish organized several fundraising events and Archbishop J. Michael Miller CSB to attended one of them.

Please read the entire article: Sayegh’s Family

---

 

The next generation of leaders needs to be informed about the plight of refugees. This is the theme of the article published in the Catholic Register on June 3, 2016 written by  Maria Montemayor. Amanda Cacilhas, from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) spoke to a Youth Council evening dialogue on “Refugee Dialogues: What we know from Syria and beyond”. She made the point that we need to not only focus on Syrian refugees but the entire globe, as this is a global crisis. Many young people want to help in this work but are not sure how or what to do.

In order to begin the process of helping it is vital that the youth know some facts and the history of the crisis we experience today and what Governments are proposing and are doing. The evening session included a panel of refugees, social service providers (Matthew House Refugee Services, Refugee Sponsorship Training Program) and a teacher at Humber college.

The evening was a great success, says Amanda.

Please read the entire article here: Youth Engagement

Your comments are most welcome: crsponsorscouncil@gmail.com

 

---

 

In an article published on May 25, 2016 Deborah Gyapong reported that the new Office of Freedom and Human Rights (OFHRI) had been established by the Canadian Government. Her report indicated that many Catholic agencies applauded this new office and welcomed it. Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said religious issues will be a key component of the new office’s mandate. The director general is Richard Arbeiter. The new office will have three divisions: Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs, Inclusion and Religious Freedom under the Director Giuliana Natale, and Democracy.

Josianne Gauthier from Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace said she was pleased to see a greater promotion of human rights, noting many people are persecuted for reasons other than religion, such as political beliefs or environmental activism. She also applauded the government’s adding indigenous rights to the mandate.

Carl Hetu, national director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association of Canada (CNEWA), says that it is now I think it’s up to us — organizations, churches and religions — to work with the government to ensure that religious freedom is always important in our foreign policy.

Please read the entire article – Freedom and Human Rights

Your comments are always welcome: crsponsorscouncil@gmail.com

 

---