The first thing that struck Elisha, 18, when she first arrived in the Cowichan Valley on Nov. 9 was its natural beauty 鈥� and how cold it is here at this time of year.
Elisha is part of the five-member Azhar family from Pakistan that was finally allowed to emigrate to Canada after more than four years of hard bureaucratic work and fundraising by the Mill Bay Baptist Fellowship Church, which spearheaded the long campaign to bring them here.
The Azhar family was forced to flee their native Pakistan and headed to Thailand where they became refugees a number of years ago due to threats from Muslim militants in their home country.
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鈥淚t was really crowded in Thailand so we found the Cowichan Valley to be much less populated and more open,鈥� Elisha said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also finding the people here are very friendly, and we鈥檝e had a lot of help getting settled. It鈥檚 really beautiful here in many ways.鈥�
The Azhar family, who attended Pakistan鈥檚 Lighthouse Pentecostal Church, was forced to flee the country because they hid their pastor, Sarfraz Sagar, in their home due to fear for Sagar鈥檚 life from Muslim militants.
The pastor was able to flee to Thailand before being captured by the group, but when Azhar Javed (the father) became aware that he and his family had also been targeted by the militant group for hiding Sagar, the family fled to Thailand as well before they were captured.
But their visitors鈥� visa eventually expired and Azhar had been detained by Thai authorities for more than three years in Bangkok鈥檚 decrepit and overcrowded immigration detention centres before finally being freed after the Mill Bay church and another church in Pakistan raised money for bail.
Immigration Canada turned down the family鈥檚 application to emigrate here last year after the government agency determined that a proper risk assessment of the case was not made.
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But the Mill Bay church and its supporters hired a lawyer to appeal Immigration Canada鈥檚 decision, and the lawyer was successful, so the family finally received the green light to come to the Cowichan Valley last month.
Most of the family already speak English well, particularly the kids 鈥� Elisha, Eshaan and Arish 鈥� which they largely attribute to watching Western cartoons and playing online games.
Elisha said knowing English will be a big help when she and her siblings finally begin attending school regularly again.
They are in the process of completing assessment testing at Duncan Christian School, which they hope to attend in January.
鈥淲e鈥檝e already made some friends in the (Mill Bay Baptist Fellowship) church community, and hope we make more when school starts,鈥� Elisha said.
The family has been staying with a member of the church in Cobble Hill since they arrived, and will soon move into a three-bedroom townhouse in Duncan that is being prepared for them.
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Azhar Javed has an MBA in business administration, and his wife Asyia is a nurse, so it鈥檚 expected they will soon get jobs once the family is more settled.
In the meantime, Azhar said he is looking forward to celebrating Christmas with church members, including the annual Christmas candlelight service that will be held this Sunday (Dec. 17).
鈥淲e鈥檙e very appreciative of what everyone here has done for us,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 was in a detention centre for 39 months and the Mill Bay Baptist Fellowship Church bailed me out, and they also helped pay the medical bills when I had a stroke last March, on top of all the work and fundraising they did to bring us here. It was really great of them. I鈥檝e never seen such a giving attitude anywhere else before.鈥�
Azhar said the greatest thing about Canada and the Cowichan Valley is the amount of freedom we have.
He said there is no religious freedom in Pakistan and there was no freedom for the family in Thailand without the proper documentation.
鈥淣ow we have all the legal documents and we鈥檙e surrounded by good people,鈥� Azhar said.
鈥淚 really love that.鈥�
Pastor Jon Emanuel, from Mill Bay Baptist Fellowship Church, said more than $30,000 was raised through fundraisers and donations to bring the Azhar family to the Cowichan Valley, with a significant amount of that going to legal and medical bills.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still trying to raise up to $13,000 more, so we鈥檒l be holding more fundraisers,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 hope we never stop helping families like this. Our church is known for sponsoring refugees. It鈥檚 part of our culture and DNA.鈥�
