Newmarket has come together to bring a family from Afghanistan here.
It all started with Newmarket resident Abdul Hanif, whose brother recently fled Afghanistan with his wife and three children after receiving threats from insurgents there.
“It’s not easy to just leave everything, house and car and everything, behind and just leave like that. It is a big decision but you would only do it when someone is desperate,” Hanif said. “He saw people, how brutally… They know how to find them and a gun man will look like a regular person but then he’ll just shoot someone in the head.”
The family ended up in Delhi, India and applied for refugee status but when the process was taking a very long time, Hanif said he wanted to help them get here instead.
He has been living in Newmarket since 2008 and is willing to provide accommodation for the family in his own home, as well as funding to support them in getting settled.
However, he needed help with the process and reached out to his co-worker and fellow Newmarket resident Jill Kellie who began connecting with local organizations and Mayor John Taylor to find a sponsorship agreement holder.
“In 2015, I was part of a group of residents who came together to sponsor a family of refugees fleeing Syria,” Taylor said. “When we learned of a family who wanted to emigrate here from Afghanistan that group jumped to action to work with and support Trinity United Church to sponsor that family.”
The mayor connected Hanif with Trinity's Rev. Linda Wheler, who took his story to their senior leadership team to vote on supporting this refugee family.
“It went to our leadership team and they said 'of course',” Wheler said.
She said for churches, supporting refugees comes from “the strong belief of loving God and loving our neighbour, and our neighbours are those within this community and those around the world.”
They were able to reach out to a sponsorship agreement holder and begin the process of getting Hanif’s family members to Newmarket.
“We’re really, really, really just at the beginning, so there’s a lot to do, but I think it’s really exciting,” Wheler said.
Hanif knows it’s going to be a long process.
“There are many steps that we have to take and one of them is that we have to do lots of paperwork and it may take one to two years,” he said.
He said that he is hopeful that with the government recently announcing it will speed up processing for refugees from Afghanistan, it could be faster “but even if it’s accelerated, you have to make sure everything is in place so it’s not going to be less than a year for sure.”
In the meantime, Hanif said he has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Newmarket community.
“There is a wonderful, supportive community we have in Newmarket, so welcoming. I didn’t know many people and everyone is so kind, sending messages saying they can help me and my brother. Some people offered to help with emotional support, you know, some people were downsizing their houses and offered extra furniture,” he said.
He said he has also told his family about all the support.
“I share it with my brother and he just says ‘wow, that’s so different, like this is the other side of people.’ One side you see that extreme and on the other side here they’re helpful and offer support and it makes it so beautiful,” Hanif said.
Mayor Taylor agreed that this is what Newmarket is all about.
“A great community is one where everyone belongs, everyone feels welcome, and everyone has an opportunity to participate. Supporting families to move here for a safer and more prosperous life is a testament to what a great community we have here in Newmarket,” he said. “While I'm supporting this sponsorship as an individual, I hope the fact that I’m the mayor illustrates that Newmarket is a welcoming community.”
