- by Anne Finlay-Stewart

There was a distinctive buzz of anticipation in the room as the Owen Sound and Community Refugee Initiative sat down to its third meeting in as many months. Representatives from a dozen different groups from Hanover, Kilsyth, Meaford, Georgian Bluffs, Northern Bruce Peninsula and Owen Sound updated each other on "their families", the progress of fundraising, and the challenges they have already met or surmounted.

Sponsoring groups vary from a group of six neighbours in Georgian Bluffs who will likely be settling a family in Wiarton to a partnership between the Owen Sound Muslim Association and St. George's Anglican Church who have finished their fundraising and will be welcoming a Syrian family of six.
In Northern Bruce Peninsula, a broad coalition has formed across their small communities, and $16,000 has already been raised. In Hanover, two sponsoring groups have formed, and when one of them exceeded its fundraising target, its members decided to apply for a second family.

Meaford is getting prepared to welcome a couple and their four children, ages two to nine, from Syria. They have found that the local community and media are very interested in their plans, and they will be going on Bill Murdoch's Open Line radio show on Friday, November 27 to talk about their progress.

Children were of particular concern for everyone in the room. Where would they go to school? What help would there be with English? The Eritrian family that St. Andrew's in Owen Sound is sponsoring has been living in a refugee camp for at least six years. What challenges come from such a disruption in schooling?

Adult education – particularly English – was also discussed, with helpful input from Tim Nicholls-Harrison, CEO of the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library, and Donna Jansen, former associate dean of Georgian College in Owen Sound. Sponsors also shared wisdom on housing, and considered the best ways to coordinate their efforts and share resources. A website –refugeesowensound.org– will offer a simple skills database, notices of upcoming events, and information on the progress of the sponsorships throughout the region for the public.

The events of the past week, and the anti-Muslim backlash, have cast a shadow over the refugee resettlement effort. The group agreed that people are reacting out of fear, and the best we can offer them is information – which the mosque is more than pleased to provide – and the reminder that the refugee resettlement is the appropriate response to other humans in need.