As of the beginning of this month, an estimated 3,200 Ukrainians have landed in the nation’s capital since February, as a network of settlement offices and volunteer groups helps them familiarize themselves with their new communities. Ottomans have also opened their homes to displaced families looking for a temporary place to stay. “When we talk about non-Ukrainian refugees, we are by no means minimizing what Ukrainians are going through,” said Louise Taylor, director of Refugee 613, a service that helps newcomers settle in. “There are people from, you know, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, all over the world who have experienced things very similar to what the Ukrainians have. And they sit there and wait – waiting for someone to help them start their lives from the begining.” Taylor noted that there are approximately 27 million refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but about 100,000 are resettled each year. Most are from Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar, according to the figures. “This is a drop in the bucket,” Taylor said. Asylum seekers from Yemen cross the border from New York to Quebec in March 2017. Refugee 613 director Louisa Taylor urges Canadians to remember refugees and newcomers from various countries as the headlines focus on Ukraine. (Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press) Taylor said she was surprised by how generous the people were to Ukrainians, but did not want the wider community to forget others who were settling in the capital and beyond. “We are part of this effort and we applaud it. We are just saying, let’s make a bigger table,” he said, noting that there are people from different countries who are not part of the “high-profile programs” run by the government for rapid migration monitoring for some groups. We just need Canadians to raise their hand and say ‘Yes, I would like to help these people too’.

Stories must have “equal weight”

Doreen Katto, a program coordinator with Matthew House Refugee Services in Ottawa, said she noticed that the Canadian Immigration Department was “paying close attention to certain groups.” “We have seen this happen to Afghans and again to Ukrainians,” Kato wrote in an email to the CBC. As a result, Kato said many other refugee applicants had longer waiting times than usual with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. One plaintiff waited more than a year for his work permit, he said. “During this period they receive social assistance leaflets which are not enough at all,” Kato said. “I feel that every refugee or displaced person has a story and all stories should have the same weight.”

Afghans still need help

Zahira Sarwar, director of the Ottawa-based Canadian-Canadian Support Network (ACSN), said as the war in Ukraine unfolded, she noticed that the number of Afghan families being relocated to Canada and Ottawa had slowed. We just notice that there is much less attention to aid to Afghans than the crisis in Ukraine.- Zahira Sarwar, ACSN Since the beginning of this month, Canada has fulfilled one-third of its commitment to protect 40,000 Afghans who have fled the country since the fall of Kabul by Taliban forces last summer. The number of donations to Afghans in Ottawa has also been “drastically reduced,” Sarvar said. “Last fall there were a lot of people who would come forward either with natural donations or [employment] offers, “he said. “These kinds of offers have almost stopped coming. And so we just notice that there is much less attention being paid to helping the Afghans than the crisis in Ukraine.” Volunteers oversee an Afghan-Canadian Support Network donation event in February 2022. The organization is still looking for donations and employment opportunities for families. (Submitted by Zahira Sarwar) Sarwar said Afghan families have noticed inequality in recent months. For example, families have noted that some teachers did not take the time to educate students about the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan when their children entered the classroom, but did take the time to teach students about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. the last months.
“It rubs us in the wrong way, but … we know there’s a bit of underlying racism involved, which is also somewhat to be expected,” he said. Sarwar wants Ottomans to remember that it does not matter where people come from. “[Newcomers] they have experienced something very tragic and need help. They need kindness. They need people to open their hearts. “We do not need prejudices,” he said.

Donations, job offers are still needed

ACSN is still looking for volunteers to help, as well as more donations – from clothes to used household items, gift cards to grocery stores. Now that many families have moved into their own home, ask business owners who can offer work to contact the team. “We are in contact with families who speak very fluent English. Many of them are professionals. They are lawyers, engineers … doctors, some are business owners themselves. But they are looking for work,” he said. “Please contact us. This can help families.”