Former refugees in Windsor say government can do more to help Syrian people

Lam Duong said he understands the plight of Syria's refugees. Three decades ago, he was in the same situation. 

In 1984, Duong became one of the tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees who came to Canada fleeing the communist government there. He ended up settling in Windsor.

Seeing images of people desperately trying to get out of Syria is a reminder of his own escape.

"I feel very sorry for them. To see that kid die on the beach, me and my wife were brought back to our own experiences," Duong said. "It was similar to that. We feel because we, as refugees by boat, it's really painful seeing that situation."

Like many refugees from Syria, Duong left Vietnam in a boat, spending two years in a refugee camp in Malaysia before coming to Canada. He didn't know any English and needed help finding a job.

"The first time we came to Canada we had to start over," Duong said. "There was a big difference, culture, everything, language."

With government support, Duong was able to make the transition. Within three years he'd become a Canadian citizen, taking a picture of himself in front of the Ambassador Bridge the day he became a Canadian.

Today, he owns a restaurant in Windsor where he employs his younger sister Yen Duong, who followed him to Canada a few years later.

Yen said it took her a little while before she found a solid footing in her new country.

"Everything was new, scary because we had no English at all," she said. "Everything was done by action, we learned step-by-step."

The Canadian government has promised to bring in 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next three years. In the last two years, 2,300 have already been resettled in Canada.  

Lam said he's hoping the Canadian government will help the Syrian refugees the same way it helped him. If there is a Syrian looking for help, he'd offer them a job in his restaurant.

"We wish the government has an open hand to help them," he said. "I hope they will find a country that will help them. No one wants to escape their country for no reason."