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Refugee camp provides little safety

NANAIMO – Second part of Al Mansour family’s story begins in Lebanon.
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Mohammad Al Mansour describes his life before leaving Syria and the experiences of living as a refugee in Lebanon before he and his family were finally accepted into Canada.

It was 2012 and Mohammad Al Mansour, his wife Wedad Idris and two children Ahmad and Chiraz Al Mansour found themselves tucked inside a makeshift warehouse turned refugee camp in Zahle, Lebanon.

After spending weeks and tens of thousands of dollars to reach the safety of Lebanon, the Al Mansours quickly discovered that life inside the refugee camp was one of pure chaos and near anarchy. It would become their home for more than three years.

“There was no system. Everything was corrupt,” Mohammad told the News Bulletin through an Arabic translator. “It is like you are living in a forest of madness.”

By the time the family members were united in Lebanon, they had roughly $50,000 left of their entire life savings and were living in a refugee camp. Camp rules prevented many from working and in addition to having to pay around $250 a month for a small space consisting of two tiny rooms and a kitchen, the Al Mansours, along with the other refugees, found themselves having to buy food and basic essentials just to survive.

“We weren’t thinking of dying, we were thinking about how we would get water,” Mohammad said.

The Al Mansours said the camp had one store where refugees could purchase items, but the prices were set by those who ran the shop and it was difficult to bargain. Water, barely enough to wash and drink, would cost around $7 per day.

“You can’t work. You can’t leave the refugee camp,” Mohammad said. “At least if we could work, I wouldn’t have worried because I could provide something for my kids.”

While the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar donated tents and food, it was far from free. Those in charge of distributing the donated goods would often take advantage of the situation by forcing the refugees to purchase items that were intended to be free.

Over the weeks and months that followed, the family managed to survive. They were so focused on getting through each day that they didn’t consider going to Europe as so many other Syrians elected to do.

“We weren’t thinking about moving or going somewhere else,” Wedad said.

Although working and leaving camp was not allowed, individuals managed to get past security to find jobs. Chiraz found work as a dental assistant for a short time while Ahmad worked as a contractor during the summer months, making $20 a day for 12 hours of work. It wasn’t much money, but every little bit helped.

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Above: Total number of registered Syrian refugees.  Source: UNHCR

In the spring of 21014, Mohammad was contacted by the United Nations asking if he would be interested in being settled in either the “English” or “French” part of Canada, to which he said yes to English Canada.

“We were all nervous about the unknown,” Wedad said. “We were happy that we were going to leave but we were nervous for the unknown.”

A little more than a year later, the Al Mansours left the Lebanese refugee camp and arrived in Nanaimo this past January. When they boarded the airplane for Canada, the family had spent all its savings.

“When we came to Canada, we were totally broke,” Wedad said. “We didn’t even have one dime in our pocket.”

Their arrival in the Harbour City is due to the efforts of a group of Nanaimo residents, who sponsored a family in need.

“We will never forget this moment for as long as we live,” Mohammad said.

Today the Al Mansours are living happily in the Harbour City, where they have a renewed sense of optimism. They’re working hard to learn English, looking forward to becoming productive members of society and extremely grateful for a second chance and all the help they’ve received since being in Nanaimo.

“We didn’t expect that kind of help,” Mohammad said. “We were surprised at the amount of people who sacrificed their time and effort to make us feel comfortable. We were overwhelmed by the reaction and we didn’t expect it at all.”

For Ahmad, he dreams of becoming an engineer while Chiraz has aspirations of becoming a doctor, but said she has also an interest in journalism.

“Before there was no hope. Now we have a future. Now we can pursue our dreams and we can do something for our lives,” Ahmad said. “It has all shifted.”

The Al Mansours also have another son and a daughter, both of whom are married with families of their own. Two separate groups in Nanaimo have sponsored the son and daughter in an effort to reunite the whole family.