By Donna Kearns
As the media tells us more and more heartbreaking stories of refugees fleeing conflict zones, it seems an appropriate time to look at what our community can do to help. Tens of thousands of people wait months, sometimes years, in refugee camps and in conditions difficult for us to imagine. More than 300,000 refugees and immigrants have used the dangerous sea route across the Mediterranean this year.
Maison Sophia, at the corner of Boteler Street and King Edward Avenue, provides temporary accommodation for new immigrants and refugees under the auspices of the Catholic Centre for Immigrants Ottawa (CCI), which has been assisting new immigrants of all creeds for over 60 years. These newcomers to Canada reside at Maison Sophia for an average of 3 to 4 weeks, and during that time they are members of our community.
In the past year, 693 people were housed in this residence, with the largest numbers coming from Somalia, Congo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Almost half of them (363) found permanent accommodation through Catholic Immigration Services. Some of us are familiar with the bewildered faces of the newcomers as they make their way around our neighbourhood. We may wish to help out, particularly now, in the midst of this overwhelming crisis, but wonder what is the best thing to do and how to do it. Perhaps a good place to start is our own neighbourhood.
Maison Sophia is only one of the services provided by CCI Ottawa; located as it is in our community, it offers us an opportunity to help in a practical and immediate way. So what can we do for Maison Sophia? Donate to the Catholic Centre for Immigrants at www.ciottawa.ca
Join our group of volunteers; we will co-ordinate with Maison Sophia staff to best assist new arrivals. Help newcomers find their way around the neighbourhood and show them how to use public transit. Donate English and French language books and magazines for the Maison Sophia library.
What can we do more broadly? Federal elections are coming, so we can make a point of asking, and asking again – in emails to their offices, at community meetings, and at campaign events – what our candidates will do to help if elected. The UNHCR has processed thousands of refugee applications, and people are waiting for a country to accept them. The UK has agreed to accept 20,000 refugees from camps in the Middle East. What is Canada doing?
We can also lobby Mayor Jim Watson and Councillor Mathieu Fleury to provide immediate increased funding for organizations like CCI. We do not need to wait for the federal government to provide funding before we step up to the plate. We can contact our provincial MPP Madeleine Meilleur and ask for increased funding to the Ontario Ministy of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade – on an emergency basis.
More broadly still: many Canadian and international organizations are doing important work and the need for funding is great. According to CBC News, the following organizations are worth considering if you are able to make a donation: World Vision Canada • International Organization for Migration • UNICEF Canada • Doctors Without Borders • Oxfam • World Food Programme • Migrant Offshore Aid • Amnesty International • Canadian Red Cross.