Sep 18, 2015 by Ray Hudson for Asian Journal: Surrey: Our ability to communicate instantly across the world has provided easy access for people on one side of the world to watch the horrifying spectacle unfolding as millions of people flee the devastating conflicts in the middle east, Syria, Libya and north Africa in particular seeking refuge in Europe and beyond.
Photo: Ray Hudson/Asian Journal
[…] Tahzeem Kassam is the Chief Operating Officer for DIVERSEcity Community Services in Surrey, and she outlined the process of assisting the refugees on their arrival.
“If government assisted refugees are designated to come to BC, they are met at YVR by Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSBC) which has the Resettlement Assistance Program, or RAP contract with the Government of Canada. They are taken to the Vancouver Welcome House and they are housed and where staff work with them for two weeks, getting them oriented and into housing. At that point they are connected to other agencies offering settlement programs, such as DIVERSEcity. Privately sponsored refugees, are the responsibility of the Sponsor to meet the family at the airport and get them housed and oriented, and it’s at this point that agencies such as ours gets involved with similar orientation programs.”
One of the things that GAR newcomers have to deal with during the resettlement process is what is known as the transportation loan, where the refugee is expected to pay the government back for their transportation costs to Canada, medical exams and other documents (up to $10,000) for each person over 18 years of age.
The recent events concerning the large number of refugees from Syria, has again focused a spotlight on the call by advocates for refugees who are critical of the transportation and processing fee payback program who see this as an unnecessary extra burden for people who are trying to get started in a new country.
More at the source: Asian Journal
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