On July 13 2009, a group of parishioners from North Vancouver Deanery gathered at Vancouver airport to greet two families arriving from a remote refugee camp on the Burma/Thai border. There was a striking contrast between the two groups of people who came together in the arrivals hall: on the one hand our Deanery group, boisterous and excited to meet the families after working hard preparing for their arrival. On the other, two families, exhausted and bewildered after traveling for three days to reach their destination, each with only a small bundle of possessions, their faces filled with the pain of leaving some vestige of home behind yet desiring a new beginning for themselves and their children.
What courage they had! What determination to follow their dream. On January 31st Kler Taw, Ehmoo Si and Eh Thanay became Canadian Citizens, yet another milestone in their five year journey. A number of the same group who met them at the airport was at the ceremony to celebrate “our home and native land” together. Together with 76 people from 21 nations, they pledged loyalty to their new home. What a proud moment for us all.
In July 2014, Kler Taw and his family will be attending the Sorrento Centre’s program “Welcome to the Refugee among us” and Kler Taw’s next objective is to travel to Burma/Myanmar to try and locate his father and other relatives. There’s no doubt that he will succeed and we wish him and his family the very best and a safe return to Canada.
Images: Top, Eh Thanay, Ehmoo Si, Judge Dane Minor and Juliana, daughter born in Canada and Kler Taw with flags and Canadian Citizenship Certificates The three new citizens are sporting Canadian Olympic Team mittens for 2014, a gift from Dave and Wilna Parry. Home page and below, Six Year old Eh Thanay waits to become a Canadian Citizen
Photos: Wilna Parry