New restaurant marks victory for former refugee

Ali Al Haijaawaited four years in a refugee camp in Jordan, hoping a new country would take him in. He finally ended up in Canada.

Six years after landing, he has opened his own restaurant,Mohamed Ali's in downtown St. John's.

Al Haijaa's parents were refugees from Palestine who made Iraq their new home. The fall of Saddam Hussein ended their stay in that country.

Al Haijaathen landed in a refugee camp in Jordan,where he waitedfour years for a country to give him another chance.

"You had to stay in the tent, under the sun, and the cold at midnight," he said.

Al Haijaa saidthere was absolutely nothing to do in thecamp the entire time he was there, but he stayed motivated by a single thought.

"I can't give up."

Al Haijaa admits he brought thatattitude with him to St. John's.It wasn't a city that he chose but it's one that he'staken a liking to.

Al Haijaawas assigned to Newfoundland and Labrador upon his arrivalin Canada.

His first enterprise in town was selling Middle-East street food out of a van in St. John's butthe business ran into trouble with city regulations unlike anything Al Haijaawas used to where he came from.

When thatdidn't work out, his next endeavour was selling after-hour falafels out of The Sprout, a downtown restaurant in St. John's.

However, his ambition remained to have his own place.

This isI think, why I didn't give up in the refugee camp this is life- AliAl Haijaa

AsAl Haijaastruggled towards this goal, he kept in mind his mantra from the refugee camp.

"This isI think, why I didn't give up in the refugee camp this is life. I can have a better life, man. I'm not going to work for minimum wage and just pay the bills."

Al Haijaarealized one of his dreams when he opened Mohamed Ali's at the end of March.

On the first day, business was so good he ran out of food before closing time. The same thing happenedon thesecond day.

"It was really super busy," he said.

For Al Haijaa, this represents a major step forward towards his even bigger goals, but he still has more he wants to see accomplished.

In particular, he wants his business to be part of more multi-ethnic growth in St. John's.

Al Haijaasaid he's here to stay.