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Images of Syrian refugees desperate to get to a safe place have the rest of the world wondering what is going to happen to those people.

Where will they go? What will become of them? Decades later, what stories will they have to tell?

Six Winnipeggers who were forced to flee their home countries over the last 70 years share their personal stories — of tragedy and triumph — of coming to Canada. We asked them five questions:

• What and why you were fleeing?
• What, if any, were the dangers of the journey?
• What has been your experience since coming to Canada?
• What does it mean to contribute to Canadian society?
• What are your thoughts on Canada’s immigration policies?

They share their personal journeys and their thoughts on the dire situation in Syria. (Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.)

Dr. Alicja Kuffel

Dr. Alicia Kuffel fled Poland in 1949 at the age of 14 when the Soviets invaded. (Phil Hossack/Winnipeg Free Press)

The retired Winnipeg geriatrician was just 14 when she, her two siblings and mother fled Poland in 1940. She sympathizes with the mothers and children fleeing Syria today, knowing what it means to leave everything you know and go into the unknown.

“I remember the invasion of the Soviet Union and treatment of the Poles, which was terrible — the confiscation of everything you ever had. My father (who served in the First World War and fought against the Red Army) was imprisoned by them.”

“I was very, very scared because you didn’t know where you were going to finish the journey and how you were going to finish.”

-Alicia Kuffel

“It was dangerous because the journey had to take us through Germany or Russia. Mother chose the journey through Russia by train… I was very, very scared because you didn’t know where you were going to finish the journey and how you were going to finish. But we were very lucky and we eventually reached Italy (her mother’s country of origin).”

She studied medicine in Dublin where she met her Polish husband, Edmund Kuffel, who was studying physics. He was offered a job at the University of Manitoba and they moved to Canada in 1968. She kept working at Deer Lodge Centre and St. Boniface Hospital while raising four children with her husband, who went on to become dean of engineering at the University of Manitoba.

“I consider Canada my home and I try to raise the appreciation and value of freedom.”

When asked how, she responded: “By obeying the law and by voting. Definitely, by voting. I regard that as a privilege.”

“I think we should accept as many refugees as we can. On the other hand, I agree that we should screen those people as fast as possible to make sure they don’t represent a threat. I’m sure if you screen a young woman with two small kids you’re not bringing in a terrorist.”

 

Tam Nguyen

Tam Nguyen fled Vietnam in 1980 and was one of Winnipeg’s first ‘Boat People.’ (David Lipnowski/Winnipeg Free Press)

In 1980, Nguyen came to Canada as a refugee from Vietnam with no money, no understanding of English and no education. He fled from his village to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and then to Malaysia in a small boat. At the time, the communist government considered anyone pro-American the enemy and was cracking down on American-style fashion, such as bell bottoms.

“They would stop you and cut your pants at check points,” Nguyen said. The treatment was just an early-warning sign of worse things to come, he determined.

They ran out of food and water on Day 2 of the five-day voyage to Malaysia. In the refugee camp there, guards were merciless — refugees who caused trouble were thrown in the sea. If one of the boat people was caught with a morsel of pork, guards in the Muslim country would shave the refugee’s head.

He bought a house in 1985. In 1986, he bought his own shop.

“I learn a lot from the people in (Winnipeg) and I learn about myself — I want to be a success. I’m a tailor. I know how to sew in Vietnam — but what do Canadians want? What do Winnipeggers want?” Nguyen worked for other tailors to find out.

Today, he owns five buildings, three businesses and has raised two kids as a single dad. A mural depicting his journey is being painted on the side of a building he owns on River Avenue in Osborne Village.

“I try to run good businesses and be a good person and help whatever I can.”

He’s donating food from his restaurant to St. Matthews drop-in centre on Thanksgiving, for instance. He helped found the charity Canadians Helping Kids in Vietnam, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary Sept. 19 with a fundraising dinner. It’s helped hundreds of children and fostered good will between people in both countries.

Nguyen’s businesses employ 20 people and he’s sponsored 13 Vietnamese families to come to Canada — more than 50 people — who are working and paying taxes, he said.

“I think Canada should help more refugees… When you help refugees, they give back to Canada like I did.”

 

Kish Modha

Mondetta clothing company founder Kish Modha was kicked out of Uganda by Idi Amin. (Phil Hossack/Winnipeg Free Press)

In 1972, Kish Modha was a 29-year-old wildlife biologist at a Ugandan national park and happily married when dictator Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of the country’s Asian population.

“I thought it was a joke,” said Modha, who is of Indian descent but was born in Uganda.

Modha and his wife were among 80,000 people given 90 days to get out. The Asian Ugandans — “we were able to take only two suitcases each and $60 each” — were often robbed on their way out of the country by underpaid soldiers. Those who didn’t leave were put in concentration camps.

He and his wife Divya were first sponsored by a U.S. church group before moving to Winnipeg three years later to be closer to family.

“She doesn’t like the cold but says this is the best country to live in. It’s safe and pleasant.”

“Everything has worked out so good for us,” said Modha, president of the Mondetta Charity Foundation and one of the founders of the Mondetta clothing company. He and his wife have two grown sons.

For Modha, living in Canada means contributing to the economic and social well-being of its people. The company he helped found provides nearly 90 people with “quality work and with quality of life.” Its charitable foundation has raised more than $500,000 for the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and KidSport and it supports schools in Uganda and Kenya.

“It’s very fulfilling.”

Canada should open its doors to more immigrants and refugees, he said. Modha has sponsored about 10 families who’ve arrived in Canada and started working right away.

“They’re instant taxpayers, buying homes and cars and contributing to the economy.”

He is most worried about the Syrian refugees.

“I feel that Canada could easily absorb 30 to 50,000 refugees. Canada is a big country.

“The people who come here are not scared of working. They’ll take any job to survive. On humanitarian grounds, these people need a safe place.”

 

Slobodan Mitrovic

Slobodan Mitrovic works at Welcome Place and was one of the Bosnian refugees Canada rescued in the 1990s. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press)

In 1992, Mitrovic was a judge in Sarajevo’s municipality court when trouble began in Bosnia. First there were fistfights in the streets, then shootings. His wife and kids left, but Mitrovic, believing the fighting would soon stop, stayed in the hopes of saving their home and possessions.

Then tanks rolled in, the shelling began and it was nearly impossible to leave. Streetscapes of his once-beautiful city were now “horrifying.” He remembers corpses with brains spilling out, “a leg here, an arm over there.”

To add to the terror on the streets, there was no water or heat and food was scarce. He lost 35 kilograms before arriving in Canada two years later.

“I’m so happy– so proud to live in a place where people say ‘let’s respect each other and enjoy it’.”

-Slobodan Mitrovic

“I was fleeing civil war. I didn’t want to spend my life in a wheelchair or end up shot in the head.”

“It was not possible to legally leave the city,” he said. “(If caught), you can get shot, arrested or they would send you to the front line where most died.”

He went to the UN office in Sarajevo and got a job as an interpreter in a third country, which he won’t name. Once there, he applied to come to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. All offered to take him.

“I thought ‘Where is the safest place to spend the rest of my life?’” He chose Canada.

“I’m so happy — so proud to live in a place where people say ‘let’s respect each other and enjoy it’.”

He got a job right away at the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council’s Welcome Place when he and his family arrived in Winnipeg. The multilingual Mitrovic is now a manager there.

“I don’t like to talk politics — that’s what saved my life. But I want the government to understand that refugees are not lazy.”

Mitrovic said he’s held three jobs at a time — like many who’ve come to Canada. Of the 7,000 refugees he’s worked with in the last 21 years, he said, “not a single person has been a terrorist or war criminal. Not a single person stole something from Superstore who’s a refugee.”

He finds Canada’s cautious approach to allowing in Syrian refugees is curious.

“Security is very important but a mother with five children is going to do something hurtful to people?”

 

Cecilia Araneda

Cecilia Araneda fled Chile when she was 4 years old (Joe Bryksa/Winnipeg Free Press)

The Winnipeg filmmaker was just four years old when she left Chile. It was after the Sept. 11, 1973, military junta led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet removed the country’s democratically elected Marxist president Salvador Allende.

Araneda’s mom was among an estimated 20,000 imprisoned in Estadio Nacional — a soccer stadium in Santiago — where people accused of supporting Allende were tortured and some were murdered.

“She was able to get out, and the person who got her out told her to leave the country right away.”

Her parents fled to Mexico City but Mexico wasn’t accepting refugees. Canada, at first, also wouldn’t accept “left-wing refugees fleeing a right-wing situation.”

“When you help somebody at their worst moment, there is going to be a lot of loyalty there and that loyalty is priceless.”

-Cecilia Araneda

Demonstrations across Canada convinced the Canadian government to issue special permits for fleeing Chileans. Araneda and her siblings stayed with their grandparents in Chile until they could join their parents in Canada.

“When we left, we were escorted by a Canadian embassy official to the plane,” said Araneda, who vividly recalls that day. “I felt protected.”

“I personally feel that I have an obligation to tell my story so people can understand what it’s like to be a refugee,” the executive director of the Winnipeg Film Group and Cinematheque said. She added it’s important for Canada to “stand up and be a humanitarian leader in the world and not be afraid.”

“It’s super important for me to talk about political engagement — participating in voting and not taking these things for granted.”

What happened in Chile before the military junta is a wake-up call to complacent Canadians, she cautioned.“It was very similar to the mentality Canadians have — ‘all kinds of problems can never happen here’.”

Refugees are “great” for Canada, its economy and society, Araneda said.

“When you help somebody at their worst moment, there is going to be a lot of loyalty there and that loyalty is priceless.”

Her family is one example: “My two sisters are doctors and my brother works at an international NGO. Forty years later it becomes clear what refugees can contribute to society.”

 

Terry Saeed

Pharmacist Terry Saeed, who did not want his face pictured, came to Canada from Syria in 2011. (Phil Hossack/Winnipeg Free Press)

The 29-year-old pharmacist came to Canada in 2011 after the Syrian government under President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on peaceful demonstrations.

“I had my own home, my own car, my own business and left that all behind and fled the country. Syria was our home but what was happening went beyond what people can stand.”

“Like a lot of other Syrians, I was inspired by the Arab Spring… I’ve always wanted to live in a democracy. That’s why I joined the movement against the dictatorship in Syria.”

He went to a peaceful demonstration calling for government reforms and was arrested with other young protesters.

“Lots of people — activists — were caught and died under torture in an Assad prison.”

He was sent for mandatory service with the military, which had turned on its own citizens. However, “a few bribes” allowed him to escape.

If that hadn’t worked?

“I would either be imprisoned or in the army — like lots of people forced to join the army… Lots of soldiers and officers defected because they didn’t want to participate in killing their own people. Many of them were killed or put in prison or joined opposition fighters like the Free Syrian Army.”

“I’ve always felt I’m welcomed in Canada… Canadians are so kind and generous and I enjoy the freedom we have. If you have the will to work, you can succeed. It wasn’t easy but at least there’s a way here for you to succeed in your life.”

He and his wife, who was also a pharmacist, lived in Toronto before moving to Winnipeg, where she was offered a job. Saeed got a master’s in pharmacology, worked at the St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre and, after meeting rigorous licensing requirements, is a pharmacist in Canada.

“Canada is what it is thanks to the contributions of its people,” he said, adding his family has never asked for anything other than a safe place to live, work and raise a family.

“My wife and I are fully independent since we came to Canada… I have two kids born in this country and feel Canada is my home now. It’s a better life and a better future for my kids.”

“This country was built by immigrants — Canada is the second-largest country in the world and Canada can take more immigrants and more refugees.”

He said it has done so before — and quickly — taking in 70,000 of Vietnamese boat people in the 1980s and 13,000 Bosnian refugees in the 1990s. Other countries with fewer resources and less space have taken in hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, he said, while Canada has accepted fewer than 2,300.

“Leaving people without options will push them to do something risky — like the option Alan’s father took,” Saeed said, referring to three-year-old Alan Kurdi who drowned trying to get to Greece from Turkey. The image of Alan washed ashore has become the symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis.

 

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca