Alive and Safe in Rossland
By Contributor
By Jan Micklethwaite
On Wednesday, Aug. 25th, Ruta Zakarias and her two sons Eyobed and Yonathan arrived at the Castlegar airport from Cairo, where they have been living for a year and a half. On hand to greet the family were Jill Peacock, Jan Micklethwaite, Dave Cornelius and mayor Kathy Moore, members of West Kootenay Friends of Refugees.
As a special surprise, two friends of Ruta’s, Salam and Helen, both now living in Nelson, were at the airport to welcome her to her new life. These two women, also Eritrean refugees, were sponsored by the Nelson affiliate group this summer and have had a little time to figure out how things work in Canada. Their presence was a comfort to Ruta and they accompanied her to her new home in Rossland for the first night.
Ruta left her home in Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, after her husband disappeared and she felt unsafe. After a difficult journey to Egypt, she was helped by an Orthodox Christian church group while she applied to Canada to be recognized as a refugee. Once she had been approved, her name and story were shared with sponsoring groups across Canada, and the West Kootenay Friends were able to choose her (from hundreds of qualified applicants).
With Eyobed ready to start kindergarten this fall and Yonathan eager to meet other children his age in the Strong Start program, Ruta would like to find an affordable place to live, not too far from the school. She is currently in temporary housing in Pinewood, but finds the long walk uphill with two little boys quite difficult. If anyone can help us with our search please call Sue Greene at 250-362-9405.
There is a great need for groups to sponsor the thousands of refugees flooding out of countries where their lives are at risk, and, while the Rossland group feels that they can’t do much to address the larger issues, they can make a difference to this little family. For six months, Ruta will be receiving some government assistance as well as health care and child benefits and for the following six months she will be subsidized by the funds raised in Rossland over the past three years.
The West Kootenay Friends of Refugees would like to thank everyone who has contributed in any way to making our efforts successful. If you would like to join the group or find out more about it, check out our website, or call Jan at 250-362-5289.
