Silva and Jack were young professional people living in the Middle East. She was an activist. He was in business. She was targeted and had to flee for her life with her husband.
They left behind their home, their large families and everything they knew. They literally ran for their lives.
They flew to Europe and then on to a city in the USA where they were some of their precious possessions were stolen. They heard that someone in the Pacific North West might be willing to help them, so they travelled across the country to discover the lead they were following turned out to be nothing.
So early one morning they caught a bus to Blaine, WA and crawled through the brambles and the undergrowth across the border. They walked to Vancouver and spent the night in the rain in Stanley Park.
The next day they got in touch with a MAP Member agency in Vancouver who told them about one of our partner agencies that provides transition housing. They were met by volunteers from the transition house. They had little English, a few dollars and the clothes they stood up in.
But through the work and love they found at the partner agency, they had English tuition and help settling. The agency worked with them to get their work permits and social assistance. And now they both work – Jack started out on a production line in a factory and has now been promoted to the finance department. Silva worked making clothes for a local company.
And now, three years later they are both permanent residents of Canada and have just welcomed their first child into their family. While they will never find what they had at home – and will unlikely be able to return – they have started to build a productive and fulfilling life here in Canada.