Syrian Refugees Are Helping Fort McMurray Fire Evacuees

By teleSUR

07 May 16

Syrian refugees new to Alberta, Canada are helping their neighbors up north affected by wildfires.

f anyone can understand the plight of having all your belongings destroyed and being forced to start from scratch, it is Syrian refugees.

That’s why when Rita Khanchet heard the news of wildfires destroying homes and displacing thousands of people in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, she was reminded of the homeland she had fled just several months ago with her husband and son.

“It’s not easy to lose everything. We can understand them more than anyone in Canada. We were in the same situation,” said Khanchet in the Calgary Herald, who now lives in Calgary.

And that is why she was compelled to help the people in Fort McMurray.

“Me and my family wanted to do something for these people. Canadian society helped us when we came to Canada,” she explained.

Khanchet posted a message in Arabic in a private Facebook group of Syrian refugees in the area, urging her fellow newcomers to help in the crisis.

One of the refugees in the group translated her message and posted it on the Syrian Refugee Support Group page, resulting in a series of offers from refugees wanting to give something back and help with the crisis.

While some offered to donate items they themselves had received through donations just months ago, the group also settled on collecting US$5 from any Syrian who has it, which would go toward buying hygienic items for Fort McMurray evacuees.