Advocate Harbour: how to make it home for Syrian refugees

This is part of a special series from CBC Nova Scotia on the efforts of the smallest community in Nova Scotia to take in refugees. Follow our coverage on our website, on CBC Radio's Information Morning and we'll be broadcasting live from Advocate Harbour on March 10.

There is no denying the beauty of Advocate Harbour. It's what draws people to this remote part of the province, about a 40 minute drive West of Parrsboro in Cumberland County. But the remoteness is also a curse.

Advocate Harbour and its surrounding communities have seen their population fall by a third over the last 40 years. Young people are leaving for work.

"That is our tragedy," said Martha Thompson, a long-time resident of Advocate and a passionate promoter of the area.

"And the greater tragedy is that the young people who leave and do well are the ones we call successful," she said.

Work is key

Thompson is a vital part of Advocate for Refugees, the group behind bringing a Syrian family to Advocate. She's offering up a house to accommodate a second family and perhaps create the nucleus of a Syrian community that will stay and grow.

The key, of course, is work. And while work is hard to come by in Advocate Harbour, the truly determined can succeed.

"This place is in our blood," said Sarah Berry. "We want a future here for us, and our children."

Sarah and her husband Mike are both generations deep in Advocate Harbour. They left for school but always knew they'd come back and at the time, it looked like they had the dream life: secure, pensionable jobs in a place where those opportunities are rare and enviable.

Sarah laughs at the memory of what happened next.

"I was pregnant with our third child when the local store went up for sale. The owners wanted to sell it in 30 days, or it would close," she said.

The Berrys' didn't hesitate. It has been eight years since they bought the Advocate Harbour RiteStop.

It's the heart of the community — the store, the gas pumps, the liquor store, the restaurant. To be a success in a place like Advocate Harbour you need to be more than one thing.

Syrians still adjusting

This is the challenge for the community and its newest residents.

The Alboush family are still feeling their way, learning a new language, adjusting to their new home. Their gratitude is obvious but the idea of putting down roots — a month after arriving — is still too soon.

"I hope that they stay here," said Thompson, but there is a healthy dose of realism behind that hope.

The immediate goal is to get a second family, but the organizing group is already looking to the future.

One idea is to make Advocate Harbour a testing ground for refugees, a place where families can come and gently adjust to their new life in Canada before moving on to larger centres.

In this vision, the future of Advocate Harbour does not lie with with long-term residents falling in love with the town, but with a stream of short-term visitors and the hope that some will be captured by the beauty, like so many before, and choose to stay.