This is a summary of an article written by our board member Natasha Freidus, published in The Globe and Mail on March 4, 2024. In the article, Natasha shares her experience sponsoring an Afghan family through Canada's private sponsorship program. The story focuses on Abdullah, a refugee from Afghanistan who had been separated from his family for nearly a decade due to targeted violence by the Taliban against their ethnic minority, the Hazara.
Natasha vividly describes Abdullah's anxious anticipation for his family's arrival, the heartwarming reunion at the airport, and their subsequent adjustment to life in Toronto. Drawing on her family's history of displacement, Natasha reflects on the role of Judaism in motivating her to sponsor refugees in Canada. Despite the conflict in Gaza and growing anti-semitism and Islamaphobia, Natasha finds hope and warmth in the act of sponsoring Abdullah's family.
For the full article, click here.