Dozens of people waited with welcome signs at the Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport Wednesday afternoon.
Operation Ezra – a refugee relief effort by Winnipeg’s Jewish Community – has spent two years working to sponsor Yazidi refugee families stuck in refugee camps. On Wednesday, its fifth family was about to arrive.
Dawod Murad-Qary, his wife Kkoke, and their seven children fled on foot from the Sinjar Mountain area of Northern Iraq in 2014 when ISIS attacked. Thousands of Yazidi people were kidnapped or killed.
Those who escaped ended up in refugee camps.
“I’m looking forward to walking out of the door and just taking a deep breath without fearing and without worrying about my kids,” Murad-Qary said through a translator.
“It’s very humbling. It’s an amazing experience. We’re very excited to be here today to see two more families come,” said Michel Aziza, a volunteer with Operation Ezra.
Plans to bring the two families to Winnipeg had been in place for weeks.
However, the welcome felt even more celebratory for the group after $28 million announcement from the federal government Tuesday to bring in 1,200 Yazidi refugees to Canada by the end of 2017.
Michel Aziza, a volunteer with Operation Ezra, said of the 1,200 refugees set to arrive in Canada, about 200 will come to Winnipeg. Aziza said 250 Yazidis already live in Winnipeg, which he believes is one of the largest Yazidi populations in Canada.
“It’s a good number given the number of settlement agencies in the city,” Aziza said.
Aziza believes Canada is taking a lead on the Yazidi refugee crisis. He said 1,200 is a good start and Operation Ezra plans to apply to sponsor three more Yazidi families in 2017.
