There were tears of joy at the Vancouver airport Thursday as a B.C. man from Syria was reunited with his sons for the first time in 15 years.
Mamon Alhomsi was overcome with emotion when he saw his now-adult children, Yaseen and Majd, walk through the gate and rush into his open arms.
They embraced for a full minute before Alhomsi brought them for a long-overdue face-to-face introduction with their two younger siblings, including a little boy dressed in a Canadian flag cowboy hat.
“Thanks great Canadian people for helping us,” Yaseen told reporters. “We hope to continue this movement to help Syrian people.”
The emotional reunion marked the end of a long, taxing journey for the family, which was split up after Alhomsi was targeted and jailed for his political activism.
He eventually fled his home country, but said the Syrian government held his sons accountable for his actions in his absence.
“Yaseen was kidnapped by the regime,” he told reporters through a translator. “He was put in prison for about eight months until he was released under international pressure.”
Alhomsi said he ultimately decided to live in Canada because he felt confident he’d be able to bring Yaseen and Majd over quickly. That process stalled for years, but Alhomsi credited the new Liberal government for getting the ball rolling again.
“Canada’s always been on the front line in terms of humanitarian support and welcoming refugees,” he said through his translator. “Finally, Canada’s back to its reputation.”
The new arrivals are just two of the nearly 300 Syrian refugees expected to arrive in Vancouver by this weekend.
Yaseen said he hopes more will be done to help those still waiting to escape.
“All Syrian people live unfair lives,” he said. “All Syrian people.”
The family said the older sons will be looking for jobs right away, and then thinking about attending school, having missed out on much of their education.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Julie Nolin
