In the past five months, Canada has become a safe haven for more than 25,000 Syrian refugees.
But the journey to Canada hasn’t necessarily been a walk in the park for our country’s newcomers. Many spent their first few months living in crowded hotel rooms while others struggled to find work.
One Toronto restaurant was determined to help the city’s newest residents have the chance to properly connect and integrate with their new community and began getting in touch with local refugee settlement organizations to see how it could help.
Amsterdam BrewHouse, a popular pub and restaurant overlooking Toronto’s waterfront, has recently hired more than a dozen Syrian refugees to work various positions in the restaurant as it gears up for the upcoming busy summer months.
Trevor Brodie, Manager of Operationsm, told Metro News about the refugees’ exceptionally difficult circumstances.
“Canadians have done a good job of welcoming refugees and helping with clothing and housing. The next step is helping them find employment,” says Brodie.
Moujhad Ahmad is one of the refugees that was recently hired to work in the restaurant’s kitchen and said that Toronto is now starting to feel like home.
“I feel like I have started to establish my life here. This work gives me big hope for creating a good future for me and my son,” says Ahmad.
Ahmad currently resides at the Fort York shelter, but Brodie has been working with a friend at Royal LePage to help get an apartment for Ahmad and his son.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can help Syrian refugees adjust to life in Canada, you can join Lifeline Syria, a Toronto organization that helps refugees coming to Canada resettle as permanent residents.
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