Multicultural Canada welcomes new Canadians

Multicultural Canada welcomes new Canadians

Volunteers of The Clothing Drive (Photo by: Tamara Romanchuk)

VOLUNTEERING TO HELP SYRIAN REFUGEES

By Mark A. Cadiz

Last Thursday night (Dec. 10), on Human Rights Day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto City Mayor John Tory welcomed the first military plane of Syrian refugees. All 163 of them were finally in a country they could call home.

Two nights later, the city of Montreal did the same, welcoming 161.

As the world watched, our leaders outside of their political colours came together, something that would have been unheard of just a couple months ago. And to top it off they did with a smile.
But well before the cameras were on, work at the grassroots level had already begun.

The response by Canadians throughout the GTA and across the country was, well, very Canadian.

Religious groups, community groups and private sponsors had been preparing for months, some even years, before the serious commitment was taken by the newly elected Liberal government to welcome 25,000 refugees by the end of February 2016.

And even with little support on the Syrian refugee crisis from the previous government, many Canadians still understood that something had to be done. The humanitarian need overseas couldn’t be ignored anymore, and Canadians from various communities responded in droves.

One local group called The Clothing Drive which started in November suddenly sky-rocketed. Piles and piles of clothes for refugee adults and children were donated.

As a result, a massive call on social media for volunteers was made, and I along with hundreds of others joined the cause.

Since then, founder Laura-Jean Bernhardson says they’ve collected over 20,000 pieces of clothing and continue to receive donations.

Two volunteers at The Clothing Drive in Toronto

Volunteering and witnessing what was happening at The Clothing Drive was nothing but inspiring.

People from across the GTA genuinely wanted to help. There were people, all sorts of people, representing the mosaic of the country.

Volunteers with origins from the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the Middle East and Europe were just some of those who wanted to help.

Dozens grabbed bags of donations and started sorting. Others labeled bins filled with clothes that were ready to be packed and stored. Many wrote welcome messages and pinned them on boards. A few musicians even swung by and played music for the crowd.

It was a wonderful thing.

As cliche as it sounds, multiculturalism although challenging, is a powerful piece of Canadian culture—it unites us.

The multicultural Canada I was raised on was alive and well working tirelessly to welcome new Canadians. It was like watching a well-oiled Canadian machine at work. At times it’s rough around the edges but when needed, it worked flawlessy… a Canadian spectacle of sorts.

And luckily for me, I was there and proud to be a part of it.

The Clothing Drive recently secured a new rent-free location at 1682 Victoria Park Ave. Sponsor groups of refugees could either visit the storefront location to shop for free or order by phone and have the clothes delivered to them.

To get more information about The Clothing Drive please visit their website at http://theclothingdrive.org/.

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Follow me on twitter: @markacadiz