“How can you not?” is Dahlia Beck’s answer to the question of why she got involved in Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program (PSR).
Images of a father and his 23-month-old daughter drowned in the Rio Grande seeking asylum in the north are a stark reminder of the 2014 death of Alan Kurdis, the Syrian child drowned in the Mediterranean en route to safety in Canada. With refugee numbers higher now than any time since the end of the WWII (70 million worldwide, Global Trends Report June 2019, UNHC), the need is compelling.
Dahlia, a retired educator, emphasizes, “it’s not about giving back, no grand stories… We’re part of the human species doing this. We can’t fix it, but we can do something.”
Dahlia has been back and forth from Israel to Canada since 1980 and has raised her two children in Canada, but it wasn’t until 2012 she and her husband made the final decision to leave Israel and move permanently to Canada. In the past four years, she has worked with her synagogue and a variety of sponsorship groups and is now on a fifth refugee family. She is following a Judaic tradition of “repairing the world” as well as an internal compulsion, “something about the gut, a sense in the stomach. Not pity, partly shame, partly despair.”
At first, she was hesitant to tell the Syrians that she was Israeli, conscious of the long-embattled history between their countries, and aware that her vantage point was through the point of a gun – politically, geographically, in every way, Israel is at war with Syria. But now she tells them. One man responded, ‘Dahlia, we breathe the same air, the same sun, eat the same tomatoes, we are cousins.’ She is “tickled pink” at these collaborations, this working together, knowing if this is possible, other things are possible.
Recently at the National Gallery in Ottawa, Dahlia came across a quote by James Baldwin: It is a terrible, an inexorable, law that one cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one’s own.
“I was just standing there, reading this; it was something visceral. I saw the faces of all the various people, and it felt authentic and true.”
Sharon Lundahl, a retired property manager in the Cowichan Valley, remembers the two Dutch refugees her parents sponsored after the Second World War, “They were good Canadian citizens.”
Sharon and Vivian Dams, a retired teacher, are part of a sponsorship group working to reunite an extended family from Syria: one part settled and thriving in Duncan; the other subsisting in Jordan with no access to work or school.
This is Sharon’s first time working with a sponsorship group, but Vivian’s experience goes back to when she was 23 and sponsored a child in Hong Kong. That little girl now has a daughter of her own who has called Vivian grandmother her whole life.
In June 2019, the UNHCR reported that Canada had accepted over 28,000 resettled refugees in 2018, two-thirds of whom came through the PSR program: ordinary citizens gathering around a kitchen table to make a difference in the lives of strangers on the other side of the world.
The private sponsorship program is uniquely Canadian. Paul McCarthy and Lynne Keffer emphasize the direct action, “it allows you to do something.” Paul likens it to the starfish story, helping even one family, one person, makes a difference.
Paul and Lynne have been part of three sponsorship groups in Victoria.
“All families are the same,” says Paul, noting each has its own politics and dynamics. Lynne adds, “there are the cultural differences, but also, the basics in which we’re all the same – the need for safety, connection, a future for their children.”
“These people have nothing, they arrive with two suitcases, and to see them do well is the reward.” Lynne attended the citizenship ceremony of a sponsored refugee who “has embraced all Canada has to offer and will be a success.” Being able to contribute to that success is a key element for sponsors.
Jerry Shulman, a professional photographer, “just wanted to help.” Two years ago, he heard about an Eritrean refugee family who had settled in Israel, but now was at risk of deportation under Israel’s refugee relocation policy. Despite having started a business, learning Hebrew, and the daughter excelling in school, their only option was to leave. Jerry conscripted various friends and soon had the requisite five people for a sponsorship group.
When a family arrives, they are like “a fish out of water,” says Jerry. Everything is new. “It takes a while to adjust.” The sponsorship group is there for support and covers everything the first year. Fundraising goals are $50,000 to $60,000 for a family. “There is a definite need.” He wishes more people would get involved.
Barb Smart, a retired nurse in Victoria, had wanted to do something but didn’t know how until she connected with a group from her church. The plight of refugees struck her heart, she “couldn’t not help.”
“I can’t imagine living through what they’ve gone through,” says Barb. “The families just want to live in safety, with dignity. They want to get on with their lives.”
Sponsors help with that: visits to doctors, schools, agencies, all of which must be done during the work week.
“That’s why retired people can be really helpful,” says Barb. Even with mobility issues, she can help with tutoring, driving, making calls, doing research. “Nurses usually act out their compassion and empathy,” she says. The PSR program enables her to do just that.
Phil Lancaster has been putting his compassion into action for over 50 years, since he first volunteered for the Canadian army. His experiences ranged from clearing land mines to demobilization projects. He was in Rwanda and “spent months helping people just run.” He’s been in refugee camps and seen thousands of refugees. “When you see enough, you realize that could happen anywhere, quickly.”
He likes the PSR program because “it’s real, from the ground, all volunteers, no bureaucracy.” One year into the process, Phil’s group has raised 40 per cent of the funds required. He’s impressed with how effective garage and clothing sales can be.
Nevertheless, “it’s a bit like climbing a chimney,” he says. “It takes a lot of people to ensure you have the depth of membership to do the work.” Despite the challenges, he feels compelled to do this. “How can you not? I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t.”
But it’s not a one-way street. “I get much more from this than I give,” is the common theme. The return outweighs the investment of time and effort. Dahlia is invigorated by the “fresh vantage point on being human.”
For Marilyn Callahan, a former professor at the University of Victoria, the experience has deepened her appreciation for Canada; she feels passionate now about her country.
Asked what impact volunteering in the sponsorship program has had on her, Marilyn says she’s “learning how to take risks. Especially after retirement, thinking you’ve kind of got it made – to jump off that track is so energizing… There are lots of other things besides steady as she goes.”
“Age is in our own minds… When we’re involved in something bigger than ourselves, we forget our age,” she says. “It’s more about what you can do or bring… What the Syrians have been through in their own lives puts things in perspective.”
For more information or to get involved locally in PSR:
Vivian Dams, Sharon Lundahl, Charlotte Sheldrake: www.gofundme.com/Start-with-One-Family—The-Darawsheh-Family
Paul McCarthy, Lynne Keffer: www.thestarfishproject.ca
Phil Lancaster: https://www.facebook.com/gorgetillicumrefugeesponsorship/