Little by little

It is all still a blur. Strange new faces. A strange new land. A new language. It is a lot to absorb. The family of fourteen have travelled a long way. Their former lives destroyed by civil war. They are weary—bone weary, according to Carlyn Moulton. But they are safe.

They are eager to encounter their new world. This morning, six of the kids register at Pinecrest Elementary. Tomorrow, they will pack a lunch for their first day in school. Next week, the older kids will attend high school. Not sure yet whether they will go to PECI or Moira— the kids will decide.

They arrived last week—11 children, parents and grandmother. Their County home is spacious, warm and comfortable. Even then, however, Moulton sensed some anxiousness from the parents; that they were being dropped off in this cold rural community and perhaps left to their own devices.

Those concerns were prompty allayed by the parade of people coming to their home—volunteer drivers, food deliveries and neighbours simply offering to help.

“They are beginning to see the outlines of the community around them,” said Moulton. “There are a lot of supportive people around them. They are beginning to trust us. They are grateful and relieved.”

Learning to communicate works both ways and Moulton has learned one very important Arabic phrase over the past few days: shway shway means little by little. It is a term that has come in handy a lot lately.

She is getting to know the family a bit better with each passing day. She finds them to be ambitious and eager to start their new lives. She is confident they will learn English quickly and become immersed in the community.

“Twenty-five years from now, they will be organizing volunteer efforts like this,” said Moulton. “Of this, I am certain.”

Moulton gathered up several of the teenaged children on Saturday and ventured out for an evening of trick or treating. Halloween is a bizarre ritual if you’ve never experienced it before.

“There is no logical explanation,” said Moulton.

“All I could tell them was that in a country without war, this is what we do to scare ourselves.”

The community has warmly embraced the family. When one of the boys needed his hair cut, the Picton barber would not take any money for her services.

Each family member now has their own quilt to guard against the coming winter—each hand crafted by members of the Albury Church quilting group. A Trenton family travelled to Toronto last week, bringing back a truck full of Middle Eastern food for the family. They will do it again this week. Some of the kids have been horseback riding courtesy of the real estate agent who helped the PECSyria group find housing. All have received boots and gloves. It goes on and on.

There are issues, however, that will have to be sorted out. The dad’s driver’s licence expired while he was a refugee. The province is, so far, unwilling to grant him an Ontario driver’s permit. It’s a problem. If he has to start at the beginning, it will be a year before he can drive with his family in the car with him. A very large family. Living in a rural community. Dependent on others for basic transportation. It’s hard. For now there are many volunteer drivers ready and willing to help.

“The province will have to figure this out,” said Moulton, “if they hope to bring in the numbers they are planning.”

There will be other challenges, but so far it has been a good start. Kindness and generosity goes a very long way towards bridging cultural, language and logistical divides. It really doesn’t take much more than that.

“This is a great family,” said Moulton. “They are eager to face the challenges that lie ahead. For the first time in a long time, they feel safe.”

rick@wellingtontimes.ca