Syrian refugee family getting used to new Fredericton-area home

A Syrian family of seven is settling in to their new home, after arriving in Fredericton this past Saturday, among the first refugees to arrive in the province.

• New Brunswick welcomes first Syrian refugees

They are being sponsored by a group at Faith Baptist Church in New Maryland, where Larry Matthews is the pastor.

He described them as a young family, with a teenage daughter and four younger sons.

"Lots of energy and they appear relatively healthy," said Matthews. "They smile all the time, I'm not sure if that's true all the time, but certainly in the time that we've seen them this week, they smile all the time when we're in their presence."

Matthews said the family is living in a furnished apartment, and that people in the community have donated enough to make sure they have winter clothing and food.

He said when they first arrived, they were shy and a bit in shock, but have been opening up more since.

The family even had Matthews, his wife and two others from the sponsorship group over for a meal.

Communication has been difficult, but there is a translator available much of the time, and the group has learned a few details about the family.

"We know that they spent approximately two years in Lebanon as refugees," said Matthews. "I was told by the mom just the other day that they learned back in February that they would be coming to Canada. So they've been waiting even a long time now to even get the nod that they were leaving."

New Brunswick will welcome at least 1,500 refugees over the next few weeks.