Syrian refugee talks about the ups and downs of life in Sudbury

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Mohamed Al Zahran only has a few memories of his life before the war that forced his family to leave Syria.

"I remember being surrounded by my uncles, and playing soccer with my friends, and going to school, and that's about it," he says.

Al Zahran and his family fled to Lebanon, where they lived for three years before coming to Canada as refugees.

They arrived in Sudbury on a cold winter day in January 2016 and settled in Capreol.  

"The first two days...were literally like waking up in paradise," Al Zahran says. "Everybody was super nice, we had lots of people coming in, welcoming us."

While he didn't know any English when they first arrived, he picked up the language quickly, and started working to earn his high school credits. He also began volunteering regularly in the community.  

But life in Canada hasn't always been easy for Al Zahran and his family, who are now separated from friends and relatives back in Syria.

"Adjusting here for my parents specifically has been pretty hard," he says.

"Just to leave all your friends behind and come here to start making new friends. I mean, even for me, I find it really hard."

Al Zahran says things are starting to get easier. He has plans to study engineering in university after he finishes school, but he knows there's a lot of work ahead of him.

There is one thing that he's fairly certain about: "I'm pretty sure I'm going to stay in Canada," he says.

"I'm not going to leave Canada."