Before civil war turned her life upside down, Dynya Mohammad lived a happy life in Syria with her husband and their three children.
Speaking through a translator, she told CTV News how fighting between the Syrian Army, Free Syrian Army and ISIS forced her Kurdish family to flee the northern town of Aleppo for Turkey.
While living in Istanbul, Mohammad’s husband died after complications from lung disease – leaving her to figure out a future for herself and the three children.
Eventually, the surviving family members came to Canada as government-sponsored refugees.
“Very good, very good; Canada is very good,” said Jwan Ali, Dynya’s oldest son, also speaking through a translator.
The family has received help settling in Winnipeg from someone who knows personally how challenging it can be to start a new life in a new country.
Arriving in Canada from Iraq as a refugee 15 years ago, Omar Rahimi now uses his experience to make things easier for other newcomers. He helps them with language, local customs and transportation issues along with much more.
"They are not alone here. We are here to help them as much as we can. And little bit by little bit, things will get better,” said Rahimi.
For 20-year-old Hevin Ali, the joy of arriving in Canada is bittersweet because her fiancé is in Turkey and she doesn’t know if he’ll be able to join her.
She’s taking English classes at Manitoba Start and has ambitious goals for her new life in Canada.
"I would like to be a doctor. That is my dream,” she said in Kurdish. “If somebody's sick and needs help, I would like to help them."
The youngest member of the family, 11-year-old Mustafa, is already settling in at school.
The family is grateful for the opportunities it has in Canada, and thankful to have a friend like Rahimi to help them integrate.
"I hope everybody can try to help the refugees; the newcomers from Syria, from Iraq, anywhere in the world. We help them,” said Rahimi.
Manitoba expects to receive up to 2,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.
