6 Meters to Freedom

It has been almost exactly 3 months since we started organizing our effort to provide dental care to Syrian refugee families coming to Guelph. Over that time we anxiously awaited their arrival and looked forward to our opportunity to provide a helping hand.

Today we had the pleasure of meeting our first Syrian family who have settled in Guelph. They came to Canada on February 1st through private sponsorship by Syria to Guelph (a non-profit organization made up of Guelph families); a family of 5 with 3 sons under the age of 10, they describe their first month in Canada simply as "the best".

As we completed dental treatment on the mother of the family, the father shared their story. "We were right in the middle of the war. I would find bullet shells in my house." He described a 6 meter-wide road in front of his house he needed to cross with his family so that they could get away and flee to his uncle's house in the countryside. "It was too dangerous to take my whole family across the road...I saw lots of people get shot and die." After months of waiting, a thick fog blew in one night and provided the cover they needed to make it safely across the road. "We waited 3 months to cross a 6 meter road." After making it to his uncle's house and staying there for approximately 4 months, the countryside became too dangerous. At this point a United Nations Refugee Agency team was able to relocate the family to Lebanon where they have been for the past 3 years.

In a matter of 5 minutes, my daily first world stresses became irrelevant. I, like most Canadians, have never faced obstacles of this nature that legitimately threatened the life of my family.

When we first pledged to help these families, we strived to make a small impact on their transition and lives in Canada; I did not realize how significant an impact they would have on us. We waited 3 months to provide dental treatment...they waited 3 months to cross a 6 meter wide road. We look forward to meeting other families that now enjoy the simple freedoms that we often take for granted.