Tears, smiles as Syrian refugees unite with Canadian sponsors

Newly-arrived Syrian refugee Anjilik Jaghlassian, centre, and her family receive winter clothes and other items at Pearson International airport, in Toronto, on Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Nathan Denette)

TORONTO -- There were tears, tight embraces and beaming smiles as newly arrived Syrian refugees united Friday with the Canadians who helped bring them to the country some called the best in the world.

Most of the 163 refugees who arrived late Thursday on the first of several government flights are Christians who fled the war and have spent the last few years in Lebanon.

The first stop for most of the refugees was the St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church, where they attended a mass before meeting with community members who sponsored them.

"Bless this country," said Hagop Karageouzian, as he waited for the service to start in the crowded church.

Karageouzian and his wife, Ello, were sponsored by his cousin, Anie Kazandjian, who lives north of the city in Stoufville, Ont.

The couple broke down earlier Friday when they met Kazandjian -- the last time they saw each other was more than two decades ago.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Karageouzian said to his cousin repeatedly.

He said his family fled the northern Syrian city of Aleppo because they feared death at the hands of hardline Islamist rebels and jihadist militants.

The Karageouzians, who will live with their cousin, expect the rest of their family to arrive in Canada within the next few weeks -- one son and his family coming from Lebanon and another son coming from Dubai.

In all, Kazandjian said, there will be about 20 people stuffed into her house.

"It's incredible, really," she said, getting emotional. "It will be a busy house, but it will be a happy house."

Reunions abounded throughout the day.

"Welcome, welcome to Canada," said Hannah Bytion, as she repeatedly embraced her sister, who she last saw five years ago.

"We're going to party, dance, eat and talk too much," she said of the family's plan for their first day in Canada. "I don't let her go, that's it, she's stuck."

Bytion's sister, speaking through a translator, called Canada "the best country in the world."

A similar scene played out as Jessica Farhat reunited with her uncle and aunt, who she last saw in 2013.

"They've been having a very hard time there so we wanted them to have a good start here in Canada since all dreams come true here," she said. "We're so happy to see them."

Farhat said her aunt and uncle had been living in Damascus but were forced to leave after life in the city got too dangerous.

"It's like a Christmas gift to us," she said of their arrival.

Farhat's uncle, Sahak Nakazian, held a bouquet of red and white flowers as he and his wife prepared to leave for their niece's home in Mississauga, Ont.

"I feel great," he said. "The most important thing is that Canada is a very safe country and we are very happy that we are here."

Some refugees were headed further afield.

Sarkis Jenanian was meeting his uncle, who was his sponsor, in Toronto before heading to St. Catharines, Ont., where he looked forward to beginning a new chapter.

"It's like a miracle," the 29-year-old said. "It's my dream and the dream has come true."

Jenanian, who fled Aleppo with his mother, said he had to leave the country because life had simply become far too dangerous.

"You want to go to job but you can't because you're afraid, because bomb comes," he said. "Your friends pass away. You always afraid, you always nervous."

Now that he's in Canada, Jenanian said he hopes to improve his English and get a steady job.

"I will work hard," he said. "There's many things you can do, there's many chances. You build your future better."

One organizer with the Armenian Community Centre, which welcomed 91 refugees, said being a Christian in Syria before the country's civil war had not been a problem, but that changed after the conflict began.

"Some places in Syria occupied by ISIS groups, yes, they did give a lot of troubles and threats and kidnapping in some cases. It happened, and it is a big issue," said Rita Armoudjian-Kasparia.

"Sometimes they really force, if you don't turn from Christianity to Muslim, Islamic religion, they will harm you."

Christians, who made up about 10 per cent of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million, were among several religious minorities the former Conservative government gave priority to for refugee status in Canada.