Syrian refugee families bound for Winnipeg face new threats
Local sponsorship group close to its initial goal, but responding to new threat to families in Lebanon
Syrian families headed to Winnipeg face new threats from the Syrian army, and more money may be needed to keep them safe, their sponsorship group says.
The South Osborne Syrian Refugee Initiative is sponsoring three Syrian families. One of the families is in Turkey, but the other two are in Lebanon, where male family members were targeted for possible forced return to Syria to be conscripted into the Syrian army, the sponsorship group said.
"We needed to move them farther away from where they were temporarily," said South Osborne Syrian Refugee Initiative spokesperson Matthew Lawrence. "Some of the men or older teenaged boys were being pulled back into the conflict."
A fundraising social on Friday will now raise money that could be used to keep the families safe rather than for resettlement costs in Winnipeg, Lawrence said.
Emergency fund needed
An additional $6,000 was raised to cover the new costs associated with transporting the families to a safer location, Lawrence said, but more may be needed. The group's GoFundMe campaign for the three families, which has a goal of $90,000, currently sits at $80,425, but that money is earmarked for settlement.
Organizers hope this weekend's fundraiser will put them over $90,000 and add to the emergency fund.
"The social for this Friday was supposed to be for resettlement money," said Lawrence. "Now we're being up front, telling people it will either go to resettlement or it could be used to keep them safe in the interim housing situation."
The SOSRI's Spring Fever Dance Party takes place Friday night at the Riverview Community Centre. Tickets are $10 and available at the door.
CBC News