Syrian refugee family greeted at Kamloops Airport

Feb 11, 2016 | 4:09 PM

KAMLOOPS — A group of Kamloops residents, including many from the Muslim community, packed the Kamloops Airport on Thursday afternoon to welcome a new Syrian family.

WATCH: Full story by Reporter Chad Klassen

Mohamed Almousa, his wife Amani and two boys, 6-year-old Hamzah and 3-year-old Ghelan, ended their long journey from Syria.

“Thank God that finally we did it and we made it safely to Kamloops and Canada,” says Mohamed through Arabic translator Hassan Kettanah. “He’s thanking everyone from the government, from the community here who’s taking care of these families. He’s happy to be here, but at the same time he’s very tired. He’s been travelling for three days.”

Mohamed comes to Kamloops by chance, but it may be the perfect fit with 10 years experience in the ranching industry back home.    

“Kamloops will be the best place for you,” says Hassan to Mohamed. “We have a big [ranching] community in Kamloops and the surrounding community.”

Also at the airport on Thursday to greet them was Rojeh Labbad, who arrived from Syria two weeks ago with his brother.    

This family is the third group of refugees sponsored by the Kamloops Islamic Association after two brothers and another man arrived nearly two weeks ago.

“We will continue to work with future families that’ll be coming to Kamloops, and providing them social support here,” says President of the Kamloops Islamic Association. “We are feeling a huge excitement for our community here. I think we are adding a great value with these professionals coming to Kamloops and the Interior of B.C.”

A family of four, now adjusting to life in Clearwater, arrived on Tuesday this week, bringing the total count to 12 refugees that have settled in the region.

Over 18,000 Syrian refugees have landed in Canada over the last three months, but there are more than 12,000 resettlement applications still being processed. 

The Kamloops group Refugees and Friends Together are expecting two families in the coming months, in addition to five more government-sponsored ones.

“We’re waiting for a couple. She is pregnant but will give birth before she comes, then a much larger family with multiple kids and kids of different ages,” says Heidi Coleman from RAFT.

As the crowds keep gathering and welcoming in refugees, the Canadian government is closing in on its goal of bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February.