A House for the Syrians (La maison des Syriens)

To this day, the war in Syria has killed more than 500,000

and displaced twelve million.

Of those displaced, 5 million have sought refuge abroad.

In Saint-Ubalde, a small village in the Portneuf region of Québec,

a Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Committee was created.

Gilles, Réginald, Michelle, Nathalie, Maryse, Pauline, Rachelle,

Daniel, Johanne, Florent, Martine, Lorraine, Annie, Margot and Nawel

are all waiting for a family.

What if they call us next Tuesday

and tell us to come get them right away?

What do we do?

What's the first thing we need to do?

The car seat...

I'll ask the girls to make a sign.

- Yeah! - You'd like that?

Yeah, it would be fun!

Would you like to go?

Yes.

I can't wait to meet them.

We need someone to bring them back to Saint-Ubalde,

people in the house to welcome them.

When they arrive, there should be a couple of people there.

Yes, one or two people in the house to greet them.

It can be the same people.

We don't want them overwhelmed with a lot of new faces!

Maybe we can find somewhere else.

So that we're not all in the house at once,

invading their space for four hours.

I can't wait for them to get here!

This is the end of the road for this project

and I'm not going to stay at home when they get here!

I want to be there!

I'm really into this project,

you can't ask me not to be there for their arrival!

I'll hold a lantern, if I have to...

Lorraine and Réginald, do you need any help at the house?

He cleaned it from the basement to the attic!

He replaced beams!

So yeah, the house is ready.

And it's very well done.

You walk into the house and go "Wow".

It's as if the house was waiting for us.

I would live there, no problem!

Waiting for the Syrians

Thank you and bon appétit!

Nathalie, I'm on my way home. See you later!

- How are you? - Fine, and you?

Can I take your tickets?

I forgot them on top of the fridge!

- I can go get them, if you like. - No, it's okay.

- You must be Luc. - Yes.

Here's your table, right there.

Have a good brunch!

- Thanks. - Bye.

Here's the baby corner.

But they can arrange the space to their liking.

Look at the little baby bonnets that were donated.

The artwork is by Mrs. Savard, the painter.

Where did the curtains come from?

- Donated. - Wow!

Everything you see here has been donated.

The baby's four or five months old, he'll have his play mat.

We wanted to leave the space fairly open,

with enough room for them to decorate as they wish,

according to their tastes.

It's really great that the house is in the heart of the village.

Margot offered us her house, so we're very fortunate

to be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

It's a very secure location.

They're surrounded by angels like you!

You're right next door, Nancy's on the other side

and Louise Magnant is over there.

They were supposed to be here in January

and that was delayed.

However, the good news is that

we got a very clear description of the family.

Two adults with their children.

They've been linked with our sponsorship committee

here in Saint-Ubalde.

They're originally from Damascus.

They recently left for Lebanon.

So that's where they are now, waiting to leave.

They were due to arrive in January,

then it was late February.

Things are taking a while,

but they should arrive in late April or early May.

We're starting to slow things down.

It was very busy for a while, but now we can take it easy.

- Nice room for the baby. - Yeah, isn't it?

- This is it? - Yeah.

I sent an email to Evlin and she wrote back.

She said that she looked at what I had sent

and wrote that she likes the region.

She also said that she hadn't been contacted by the Embassy yet.

Not surprising.

She's got some questions for us.

She wants to know what they should bring.

How to get to the house,

how much money they need for the first few months,

or what they need to live on for the first months.

That's what she asked. I haven't replied yet, but I will.

Tell her not to worry about it!

Of course.

I have to be careful, though, to reply in plain French

so that she understands the information I give her.

For the French language program, any news?

Yes.

Let's hear what you have to say!

Yes, I've got some great news.

Yesterday, I met with Roseline Dunn

from the professional training centre in Donnacona.

We had spoken on the phone, and she told me

that their French classes were not offered during the summer,

because they use the school calendar year.

She'd suggested I go to the Québec Immigration Department,

but they're overloaded, so that takes forever.

They're bogged down by the increase in requests.

And then yesterday, I went back to the school board

that runs the professional training centre

and we had a really good meeting.

We met for an hour, and in the last fifteen minutes,

she decided to call the job bank in Portneuf.

She asked if there was any money left over

and they decided they'd start a French class for our group.

Even if they're not eligible for welfare?

That's right.

They're better than the credit union!

It's great news because their French classes

normally end with the school calendar year.

But now they want to offer the class this summer.

I really emphasized that we wanted them to integrate quickly.

Bravo, Michelle!

Finally, a breakthrough! I'm quite pleased.

You did a great job there, getting things moving.

You know, when I called Immigration,

I only spoke with receptionists, never anyone who could do anything!

It's like what's happening in Lebanon.

They're on the pile, but it's slow going.

Since it's going to be a while before they get here,

we'll have to cover some costs.

Administration fees and things like that.

And so we have to keep fundraising,

but we're not struggling to stay afloat.

When they get here, I think we're going to see a lot of donations.

People will realize that they need money once they're here.

My mother always told me not to sell the house.

She told me to lend it to someone in need.

It's as if she felt this coming.

Now, I don't know how long I can keep it.

It's an extra cost.

I can't go there anymore but I'm so glad

to see someone taking care of it.

He takes such good care of it every single day.

I told Réginald, it's crazy how you fawn over that house.

He washes the house, he does it all.

He even painted the post.

He told me, "The post is rusted."

I told him it's been like that for years.

My tenant never did that.

I couldn't keep it up and my children couldn't either,

so I said I'd have it painted

and he told me not to worry, he'd do it.

He does everything.

I wanted to do some yard work, add a little bit of gravel,

because I found it wanted tending.

He told me not to touch anything, not to buy anything.

But we're really looking forward to their arrival!

We don't know when they'll get here, if they ever do.

And if they don't, what do we do then?

That's the tricky part.

Everything's in place.

You've seen inside? It's gorgeous.

Everything's in place, in order.

I went to see it and it's much nicer than when I had it!

So there it is.

My little house, and we're still waiting.

I'd really like for them to get here as soon as possible.

And if they want to stay, they can stay.

On Saint-Paul Street, in Saint-Ubalde

there's a pretty little house in front of the church

with a sign that reads

"Welcome Refugees".

Surrounding it, a small village with a large heart

impatiently waiting

for a Syrian family that doesn't come.

The snow has melted.

No Syrians.

Spring has arrived.

Still no Syrians.

Saint-Ubalde's inhabitants thought

they'd have to get accustomed to the refugees.

But what they learned most

is how to get accustomed to waiting.

If this trend continues,

these Syrians will be welcomed like royalty.

That's by Rima Elkouri in La Presse this Saturday.

Nice to hear!

There's even an article about how much we're waiting!

It puts some life into our waiting period.

After the article, the paper got this email from a reader: