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Canada's Partially Open Arms

Take a moment and think of the people who you love most in this world.

Now imagine them starving, malnourished, and holding on to their lives as they fight for even the hope of a brighter future. Imagine having to see the people you love covered in debris; imagine almost dying yourself.

As the privileged few who get to live and thrive in a first world country, these stormy realities seem like storylines built for a movie set or dystopian novel.

However, for war victims in countries such as Syria, this is not a dream. The bombs, the dust, the remains of cities - all of it currently exists. Since 2011, more than 11 million people, 2.5 million of them children, have been forced to flee from their homes in Syria and become refugees.

Some of these refugees are seeking safety in Canada, but have to jump through countless hoops to get here. We spoke with a private sponsor of a Syrian refugee family, and the general sentiment was one of frustration with the system. Like many Canadians, the sponsor was “shocked and overwhelmed” with the situation in Syria. As a new mother, she “felt sick to [her] stomach” when she imagined a situation in which she could not protect her own child. In October of 2015, she started working with a Sponsorship Agreement Holder in Victoria to begin the journey of privately sponsoring a Syrian refugee family.

The Canadian government has promised to process all of the privately sponsored refugees’ applications submitted by March 2016 by early this year. If you visit their website, they appear confident that they are on track for this goal, but some citizens think otherwise.

After the Trudeau government reached its goal of relocating 25,000 refugees in Canada, the support for many of the families still in limbo wavered. In 2016, countless applications were submitted, but not received in time to be processed. Some families did not know about the deadline until it was too late.

There are countless refugees who got lost in the politics, and they are still paying the price almost a year later. Stuck in unstable countries such as Turkey, they are waiting on news from the Canadian Government on when they can finally cross seas to avoid the war. Due to several rumors of Visa Offices cutting back their staff in gateway countries, there is growing concern for about how long these families will have to wait to come to Canada.

The biggest concern for welcoming countries seems to be the fear of terrorists infiltrating the refugee population. This is not a helpful mentality for the 2.5 million children in need of shelter or medical aid.

Turmoil aside, there is a glimmer of hope. Syrian refugees continue to arrive every day, and families remain optimistic that the application process will continue to move forward. Canadians have poured their hearts (and their money: it can take $50,000 to privately sponsor a family) into helping Syrian refugees feel welcome and at home amongst the unknown snowy landscape.

Our citizens’ show of unwavering support has become a model to the world; we walk on a bright road with half of the globe following in our footsteps. We are creating programs which enable people to open their arms for those struggling a world away.

However, as a society, we are simply not doing enough to help those who have been harmed by war and tragedy. Even Canada as a country could be doing a great deal more to aid those in need. As human beings, it is important that we put aside our differences and see that these refugees are simply people who are getting caught in the crossfire of an inconceivable war - and that we are the people with the power to help.

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