How Gander's support of Syrian refugees is part of a long tradition

Continuing what the co-chair of the Gander Refugee Outreach Committee says is a long tradition of helping others in need, residents of the town are coming together to support and sponsor Syrian refugees.

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Hope McBreairty said that members of the community have sprung to action after witnessing the the plight of the refugees in the media. 

"There's been several groups, or some groups in the region, that have been affected by some of the pictures coming out of Syria, namely about young Alan Kurdi, and wondering what they could do," McBreairty said. 

The now-unforgettable photo of Alan Kurdi shows the young boy's body washed up on a shore in Turkey, after the boat his family was trying to flee in capsized on the water. 

Gander's town council organized a meeting that drew more than 40 people, some of whom then formed the Gander Refugee Outreach Committee.

The group's goal is to bring a total of six families to Gander, and support has come from all over town, including from the Anglican diocese.

Five families are coming to the Gander and Lewisporte area in the coming weeks.

Part of Gander's DNA

McBreairty said that the tradition of helping refugees is in Gander's DNA, in part because of the town's international airport, a former fuelling stop for flights involving former Eastern Bloc countries. 

"Gander is very familiar with bringing in refugees. During the '80s and the '90s, we welcomed many refugees — they came and went a lot of times, coming from Cuba and the Soviet Union," she said. 

"During the 9/11 event, we opened our doors …it's part of our heritage, so we're just continuing our welcoming."

Fundraising events held so far have included a charity screening of Gander native Brad Peyton's film San Andreas, and two benefit concerts.

The Gander Refugee Outreach Committee is partnering with the Association of New Canadians to bring the refugees to Gander, and McBreairty said that committee has already raised $35,000 on its own thus far. 

For her, and others, it's imperative that the refugees are able to get to safety as soon as possible.

"These people need a place to live — right now Turkey is sending Syrians back to Syria [and] there's over 3,000 people dying, trying to escape a year on average. A lot of these are children. They have no place to go. "

Anglican fundraising efforts leading the way

Bishop David Torraville of the Anglican Church diocese in central Newfoundland said that his church is also doing its part to help refugees come to town.

"I watched the programs on television," said Torraville, adding that he asked others what he could do.

"Then phone calls and emails started coming from all over the diocese," he said. 

"People challenged us. Instead of saying what can we do, they started saying what will we do."

The bishop said he then wrote a letter to his diocese suggesting that people give donations, and asking if they could sponsor families

Bishop Torraville said that ​as of last Friday, the diocese in central Newfoundland has raised $47,000 for Syrian refugees to come to Gander.

But he also said that raising money to bring refugees here isn't the only thing that needs to be done to help them.

He believes that the refugees must also receive continued support once they arrive in Gander.

"The difficult part is four months, six months, eight months into the sponsorship," said Torraville.

"It's having people on the ground to visit, to offer child care, to offer advice, to offer support, to talk them through the tough times," he said. 

"These are people who are going to be coming who have left their families, they're going to have loved ones back home, they're going to have perhaps even children back home."

Torraville said that the support from the community is emblematic of the way people in Gander have always been.

"We were a crossroads of the world as people passed through here one time … maybe we can become a crossroads of the world where people come and settle."