{"id":1238,"date":"2016-03-29T18:02:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T18:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2020-10-28T14:40:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:40:33","slug":"syrian-refugee-student-arrives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/03\/syrian-refugee-student-arrives\/","title":{"rendered":"Syrian refugee student arrives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Syrian<\/a>Next to her new winter clothing, that campus guide was a must-have for Kuwatly in early January. Newly arrived at U of G from Lebanon, the Syrian student needed to find her way around a snow-covered campus completely unlike anything she\u2019d left behind in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are nice here,\u201d she says with a slight Arabic accent. \u201cPeople treat you differently than in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

By mid-February she had her bearings, but she was still missing her parents and siblings scattered between Lebanon and Europe.<\/p>\n

Kuwatly arrived at U of G as a specially sponsored student under the Student Refugee Program run by the local chapter of the World University Service of Canada, an international development organization based in Ottawa. A second student is expected to start at Guelph in the fall semester.<\/p>\n

Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, and especially since the militant Islamic State took over parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014, millions of Syrian refugees have arrived in camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.<\/p>\n

Kuwatly never endured the camps. Along with her mother and brother, she travelled in spring 2013 from her home in Damascus, Syria, to Beirut, Lebanon, where they found an apartment.<\/p>\n

She had never heard of \u201cGelf,\u201d as she pronounced the name while Googling U of G. And she knew practically nothing of Canada, except that \u201cit was so cold here and far away.\u201d Her online investigation turned up something even more important: Guelph was a safe place.<\/p>\n

Her joy at being accepted was tempered by the notion of leaving her family. The worst moment was bidding farewell to her mother, a recollection that sparks tears.<\/p>\n

She flew overnight on a chartered plane full of Syrian refugees travelling from Beirut to Canada. After staying overnight in Toronto, she was picked up by a University of Guelph team.<\/p>\n

Kuwatly is taking a full course load this semester in a general science degree program. She\u2019s thinking about medical studies and plans to return to Syria one day.<\/p>\n

Referring to her generation\u2019s responsibilities to that divided nation, Kuwatly says, \u201cWe have a country to build.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says she\u2019s still lonely in Canada, but she\u2019s grateful for a chance to live and study in a safe place where basic rights such as education are respected. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge transition for me, everything is different, the people, the weather, the time difference. I sometimes feel like I\u2019m not totally settled in here. There\u2019s still a lot to know and do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I couldn\u2019t stay without my mom and here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013ANDREW VOWLES<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Newly arrived at U of G from Lebanon, the Syrian student needed to find her way around a snow-covered campus completely unlike anything she\u2019d left behind in the Middle East. \u201cPeople are nice here,\u201d she says with a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[83,84,138,146],"yoast_head":"\nSyrian refugee student arrives -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/03\/syrian-refugee-student-arrives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Syrian refugee student arrives -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Next to her new winter clothing, that campus guide was a must-have for Kuwatly in early January. 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