A New Westminster woman’s crowdfunding campaign to reunite a Syrian family is gaining momentum and nearing the half-way mark, and the man at the centre of it all couldn’t be happier.
The campaign to bring Mohammed Alsaleh’s family to Canada surpassed the $13,500 mark early this week. He’s hoping to raise $30,000 to sponsor his siblings and mom to come to Canada.
“It’s been doing quite good,” Alsaleh told the Record. “I’m so excited.”
Deana Brynildsen, a retired foreign affairs secretary and New West resident started the campaign. She befriended Alsaleh after she read about his plight in the Record.
Alsaleh, 26, fled Syria, leaving his family and medical school studies behind after he was detained and tortured for protesting the regime. He’s been in Canada for about 13 months.
Since the campaign started on Dec. 9, 134 people (and counting) have donated, and the page has been shared on social media more than 400 times.
The last time Alsaleh spoke with his family was before the campaign launched. They recently left Syria and are now staying in Turkey, but they don’t have a phone number yet, so Alsaleh hasn’t had a chance to update them on the campaign’s progress.
“I can’t wait to tell my family,” Alsaleh said.
Metro, CKNW, and Roundhouse Radio also covered the story, and Alsaleh went on Global TV and asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what he was going to do to help reunite refugee families. Alsaleh said one of his wishes was to take a selfie with Trudeau.
“That was amazing, it was a dream coming true,” Alsaleh said.
On Monday, he met New Westminster MP Peter Julian and shared his story.
“He said he will try to help me and he will do his best, as well,” Alsaleh said.
Julian told the Record Alsaleh’s story was very compelling and that he’s had a number of refugees approach him to follow up on their family members.
“What I’ve told everybody is we have no magic wand, but we have a good track record of pushing the government to act, so that’s my commitment I’ve made to him and a number of other refugees that have come to see me. We’re going to do everything we can,” Julian said.
To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/SyrianFamilyRescue.
