Yousif Al Halaaq considers himself a lucky man, thankful he and his family could leave behind a chaotic existence in the Middle East and come to Canada. Al Halaaq is a Palestinian Iraqi who, along with his wife Abitsim and their seven children, fled Baghdad and spent more than three years living without electricity at two United Nations camps between Iraq and Syria. The family now rents a five-bedroom home in Comox, thanks to the efforts of a local refugee support organization. The children, who range from seven to 19 years, are attending Vanier Secondary and Aspen Park Elementary schools. Yousif and Abitsim are taking English classes at North Island College. "Very beautiful, British Columbia," said Yousif, 41, who was a barber for 25 years in Baghdad. "Thank you very much, all the people in Comox. I'm very lucky I'm coming here to Comox." The Comox Valley Refugee Support Committee responded to pleas from the UN High Commission for Refugees and the Canadian Embassy in Syria, which were desperate for sponsors for refugee families approved to come to Canada.Through luck, the Al Halaaqs have reunited with Ali and Laila Abo-Nofal and their three daughters, who happened to live two tents away at the second camp. They now reside in Courtenay."We had raised enough money, almost, for two families," said committee chair Dave Talbot, noting the Al Halaaqs were having a difficult time being selected for sponsorship due to the size of the family. "Fortunately we got them out before the embassy closed. They basically got here just in time."Fewer than 100 people remain at the camp, which had housed more than 600. The refugees now live throughout North America, Europe and Australia. Abitsim's parents and siblings are in Halifax while Yousif's sister is in Winnipeg. They will be able to stay in touch through Skype."It's amazing what people have done," said Younis Younis, a Kurdish Iraqi now living in Comox who translated for Yousif.As a boy, Younis fled Iraq in the early-1990s. "It feels good when I help these people because I've been through the same thing, except mine was way worse than what they went through." Younis can see the family adapting and adjusting even after a week in the Valley, with help from Ali Abo-Nofal, who has escorted Yousif through Superstore. "I trained Ali 鈥� now he's taking over," Younis said. "It's all about helping each other. We're all humans; we're all the same."Talbot said Canadians are literally giving families such as the Al Halaaqs a country they can call home."It's hard to imagine because there's very few people in the world who have no country, but Palestinians in 1948 basically lost their country, and they have been sitting in other countries," Talbot said. "He (Yousif) was raised in Iraq, but he's not an Iraqi because the Iraqis never accepted him." Yousif and his family had lived with his parents, who had fled Palestine in 1948. He owned a barbershop in Baghdad, where Palestinian Iraqis needed to carry identifying green cards and have them renewed every six months.Yousif recalls when the war started in 2003 the Iraqi government started threatening Palestinians who did not leave the country. Muslim extremists would shoot barbers because they were shaving beards and cutting hair. They killed 360 Palestinians, including Yousif's uncle and nephew. Leaving everything behind, the family went to the first camp but could not stay. With visas, they were permitted into the second camp. At the time, Yousif and Abitsim's youngest child was just two or three. "There's no words to explain," Younis said. "There's people sitting in the camp under a tent and it's raining on them and snowing on them. It's freezing, and they eat some bread and they're thankful. It's different. You have to be there to experience it."Even so, Talbot said some people question why Canada is assisting people overseas when it has domestic concerns of its own. "They miss the point," he said. "Nobody in Canada is without a country. They all are entitled to a pension. There's welfare. There's all of these social safety nets that these guys didn't have."Numerous people have given time, money and enough items to furnish homes for both families. The committee has raised $61,000 but requires an additional $14,000 to cover the Al Halaaq's living costs for a year. Cheques can be made to Comox United Church with Refugee Fund on the memo line at the bottom. Please drop off or mail at 250 Beach Dr., Comox, B.C. V9M 1P9. For more information, e-mail cvrefugees@yahoo.ca, or check www.cvrefugeesupport.blogspot.com or find the committee's Facebook at CV Refugee Support. 鈥� 鈥� 鈥ounis Younis and members of both families will tell their story Thursday at North Island College in Courtenay. Nursing students host the presentation at 7 p.m. at the Stan Hagen Theatre.reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
