Residents in small Quebec town sponsoring Syrian refugee family

Although the Apkarians have never stepped foot inSutton, Que., they are among the most popular and discussed peoplein the bucolic resort town of 4,000 residents.

A bank account has been opened on their behalf, a home is beingprepared and an organic farmer has already promised them free, freshfruits and vegetables for one year.

• Quebec looks for ways to teach Syrian refugees French
• Quebec calculating how many subsidized daycare spots it can offer refugees
• Handcrafted buttons welcome Syrian refugees to Quebec

"People have been asking me, 'When are they coming?' They areall excited," said Lu Emanuel, the Sutton resident who started theproject to have the town sponsor a Syrian refugee family.

The Apkarians will be the first Syrian refugees in Sutton,Emanuel said. And while Hay Doun, a Montreal-based Armeniancommunity group, is backing the application, the family iseffectively being sponsored by the entire town.

"People in the community are by and large very happy and excitedwe are doing this," Emanuel said.

Emanuel first contacted Rafi Allaouirdian, an Armenian shoemakerfrom Lebanon who's been living in Sutton for several years.

"My ex-wife is a Syrian-Armenian," said Allaouirdian. "We knowa lot of people who are refugees and living all over the world. Isaid maybe I could find a family to sponsor. And that's when theApkarians came into the picture."

The couple and their three children, aged between 15 and 20, arein Lebanon waiting for the Canadian government to give them amedical examination. The mother is Allaouirdian's sister-in-law.

"If they are called for the medical then it's an automatic Yes(to come to Canada)," he said. "From what I understand there is no'No,' it's always 'Yes."'

When the Apkarians will arrive is unclear, however, as they windtheir way through Canada's refugee-settling processing system.

People lend a helping hand

Most of the thousands of refugees Quebec has agreed to acceptsince last year have settled in big cities, notably Montreal, wherethere are schools and other services aimed at helping themintegrate.

That's not the case in Sutton, where Lu said the closest servicesdedicated to refugees are a 45-minute drive away in Granby.

Although they will be far from their Syrian hometown of Aleppo,the Apkarians won't be alone.

• Westmount private school knits tuques for Syrian refugees
• Quebecers knit, donate tuques to Syrian refugees
• Quebec businesses urged to hire Syrian refugees

Roughly 90 people have donated money, supplies or time in orderto help the family until they are self-sufficient.

A group of residents recently held a fundraising concert attendedby roughly 100 people in order to collect money for the Apkariansand other events are planned.

People have already promised to volunteer to help the familylearn English and French and a registered nurse has pledged toassist them with navigating the health-care system.

Lu added that a professional psychologist has volunteered time tohelp family members deal with any residual trauma associated withhaving to leave a city in Syria that has seen some of the worstfighting in the civil war.

Additionally, the Apkarians have two family members already inSutton.

'Thank you very much'

Ottawa initially wanted to cap the number of privately sponsoredrefugees coming to Canada but Immigration Minister John McCallumreversed course in March.

• Knitters want to give refugees Some Warm Welcome
• Sherbrooke residents flock to help incoming Syrian refugees

He said the applications for about 10,000 Syrians that had beensubmitted by March 31 will be processed in the hopes of getting therefugees to Canada by the end of 2016 or early 2017.

Vache Maranian, 47, Allaouirdian's Syrian brother-in-law, wasfast-tracked to Canada and arrived in mid-April.

He drove to Sutton from Montreal to attend the benefit concertand to say hello to Allaouirdian and his son.

In broken English, he said, "Thank you very much. To thegovernment of Canada, thank you very much for everything."