“There are no terrorists there. There’s just civilians and people living normal lives,” said Hassan. “We, the Kurds, we fought ISIS and we paid blood.”

Berivan’s parents are now in Germany but she has uncles and aunts in Syria. Hassan’s sister, mother and father had tried to escape as Turkish airstrikes rained bombs. When they finally got out, they headed to a nearby village hoping for safety. That area was also bombed.

The couple will be eligible to apply for their Canadian citizenship in March. It is something they are looking forward to. According to the Government of Canada website, once they are citizens they can apply to help Hassan’s parents escape the terror as the church did for them.

The government website notes, “Family reunification is a top immigration priority for the Government of Canada.”

The plan was postponed but the government website promises the intake process for the program in 2020 will be available soon.

However, for the Khaleds the wait doesn’t matter. Even with a full-time job, Hassan does not earn enough money to sponsor his parents.

“I’m nowhere near making the amount that the government asks,” he said.

Instead, they remain glued to the television and the turmoil in the Middle East. For now, his family is safe, but the Turkish invasion was not without its casualties. One of Hassan’s dearest friends was killed, leaving a wife and two small children behind.

“That just broke my heart. I still remember his voice. They days we spent at college together,” said Hassan. “I can’t believe he is dead now. He’s alive in my heart.”

“That was a very hard time for Beri and I in 2019,” he said. “Even though we had some good news in July.”

The couple now has more family close by. He has a brother who lives in Toronto and, this summer, a sister arrived In Montreal. The family gathered for a week in Gatineau, Que., and, more recently, spent time together over the Christmas holidays. First in Toronto and then trekking north to Bracebridge so the families could experience “a real Canadian winter.”

Watching, and having lived through the carnage of the Middle East, Hassan is grateful for their lives in Canada. Looking at his life in Syria, and those of his family and friends, he appreciates what he has and truly sees Canada as a land of opportunity.

“I have big ambitions to fulfil,” he said. “I realize it’s long way. I have been here for only three years so I still have 30-35 years more to fulfil all that but at least Canada gives me that chance and I’m working toward it. If I was there, I wouldn’t have what I have here.”



STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Watching the news stemming from the Middle East, knowing this impacts one of our own Bracebridge families, it seemed an appropriate time to reach out and see how the Khaled family is doing.

