To the Editor,
It has been nearly a year since our last refugee family from Burma arrived in Creston and 20 months since the Palestinian family came. Both families are doing well and continually ask us to thank everyone who has been so kind and generous to them. When the father of the Palestinian family phones from Surrey, he always says, “Please say hi to everyone in Creston and tell them we miss them!”
There are so many people who have helped our families and because of this help we feel their adjustment to Canada has gone really well. We want to thank the dentists, the doctors, the tutors, both Rotary clubs, the Lions Club, the Creston Valley 4-H Club, the Creston Ministerial Association and its members, and all the people who have donated money and household furnishings. Thanks to all of you, these families have come to safety after living in hopeless conditions. When we hear the news of what is going on in Syria, we are so happy we were able to get the Palestinian family out of the refugee camp that was located there. In March, 32 Burmese were killed in a fire in the refugee camp on the Thailand border. Living in a refugee camp is not only dehumanizing it is dangerous.
The refugee committee’s financial commitment to a refugee family is for one year and we are so happy that both the father and mother of the Burmese family have found work and will be self supporting. Bringing a refugee family to Canada is about more than money and we will continue to be a support system for the family as long as they live in Creston, which we hope is forever. Refugee families who have left Creston continue on as friends, wherever they live. We just had a young Vietnamese fellow from Vancouver return to Creston to visit. He was 11 in 1979 when that first family of 10 came to Creston as refugees and he is now a pharmacist. He was happy to hear that Creston is still supporting refugee families.
It is impossible to thank all of the people from Creston who have supported our family. We hope that you will be there to help us with another family when we do it again.
Linda Price
Creston Refugee Committee