An Ontario man whose family arrived in Canada as refugees 34 years ago hopes to 鈥減ay it forward鈥� by sponsoring 14 Syrian refugees, at an estimated cost of $64,000.
鈥淚 wanted to honour, not just my parents鈥� efforts and sacrifices, but the generosity of Canadians back then,鈥� Trieu Nguyen, an engineer from Hamilton, Ont., , explaining why is sponsoring the Al Rahmo family, with 12 children aged one to 20.
Nguyen鈥檚 family were among 60,000 Vietnamese refugees, or 鈥渂oat people,鈥� who were accepted to Canada as refugees between 1975 and 1980.
The Nguyens fled their home in Saigon after Nguyen鈥檚 father, a government employee, was singled out as an 鈥淎merican sympathizer鈥� by the ruling communists, and forced to work in a labour camp, Nguyen said.
Even after he left the camp, Nguyen鈥檚 father remained under suspicion, Nguyen said.
鈥淗is opportunities and his future, as well as his family鈥檚 and his kids鈥� futures, were fairly dark,鈥� he said.
So in 1981, the Nguyens gathered up their lives and, like scores of others, boarded boats headed to the South China Sea. Nguyen was just three years old.
鈥淲e were there for four days before a merchant ship picked us up and took us to the Kuku refugee camp in Indonesia,鈥� he said.
The Ryerson United Church in Hamilton sponsored the family of five to resettle in Canada, and Nguyen鈥檚 parents, Dong Nguyen and Viet Truong, worked several jobs to make ends meet.
鈥淲e benefitted from incredible support from our sponsoring group,鈥� Nguyen said. 鈥淭hey opened their hearts and their doors to us.鈥�
Now Nguyen and his wife, Brooke Biggs, are hoping to match that generosity. They鈥檝e started an to help meet their goal of $64,000, which they estimate is enough to support the 14-person family for a year. They鈥檝e already raised more than $14,000.
鈥淵ou can imagine finding accommodations for a family of 14 is not easy. We鈥檙e working hard,鈥� Nguyen said.
Nguyen says he hopes his story adds 鈥渁 little perspective鈥� to the Syrian migrant conversation.
鈥淲hen [the Syrian refugees] get here, they鈥檙e going to require substantial support from the government and from the private sector 鈥� but just as my parents did, they鈥檙e going to work incredibly hard to try and provide for their families,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hirty years from now, looking back on our response to Syria and this migrant crisis, I would like to say, much like the boat people after the Vietnam War ended, that we would be proud of our response.鈥�
With files from 麻豆影视 Channel
