As Canada prepares to welcome thousands more refugees from Syria, the ones who have already made it here have some incredible stories to tell or survival and success.

They also hope Canadians will see past their fears and understand that the reality of the refugees who hope to make Canada their home.

Elizabeth Hampartzoumian and her husband Vahe Kapshanian arrived in Montreal in March, fleeing a land of turmoil.

“I'm so proud that I'm here now. The first months I was so upset. But after two, three weeks it was okay and now, I don't feel any strangeness at all. Everything is okay for me,” she said.

In 2013, she and her family tried to get to Armenia through Turkey, but were stopped on the side of the road outside of Aleppo.

“When they stopped the car and told that men must get down the car, I told my daughter, come and don't say anything, maybe God helped me. We returned safe to our home,” she said.

She says her husband was kept in a room with dozens of men in jail-like conditions, where he said his captors threatened to behead him.

“After two or three days they called (and said) if you don't pay the money, we don't return back your husband. After 23 days of negotiations, we found some people, we paid the money, they returned my husband but they haven't returned anything they took from us,” she explained.

Once a teacher, Hampartzoumiannow works for an immigration consultant, translating stories of refugees who want to come to Canada.

“I'm not too young but I'm very active. I like to work. If I don't work, it means I'm not living,” she said.

Kapshaniansaid he is grateful for their fresh start.

“I'm very happy, because I'm going to school to learn the French language,” he said.

“And I say, when there is a will there is a way. Vouloir c'est pouvoir,” said Hampartzoumian.

Success stories

Educated and successful brothers Amr and Tawfik Houboubati came to Canada from Damascus five years ago.

“For me this is home. My daughter was born in Montreal,” said Amr.

The brothers say like most Syrians, they came to Canada eager to offer, not take.

“They are skilled workers and they are coming here to showcase their skills,” said Tawfik.

“They're people that have a lot of pride. Multilingual. They want to work. Educated as well,” added Amr. “And I'm sure they're not going not going to be a burden on Canada it's going to be the exact opposite.

In Syria, the brothers worked in the hospitality business, but with the situation worsening, decided to leave five years ago.


“We're fortunate. We were able to come to this country years ago,” said Tawfik.

They fully understand the fear that's driven so many refugees to leave and say Canadians should not be fearful.

“They're not looking to terrorize or otherwise cause chaos in the world. They are actually running away from that,” said Tawfik.

Since coming to Canada, the brothers have started a business offering authentic Syrian cuisine.

“We have a lot of history to show and I wanted to showcase in a modern way so it looks like a French boulangerie with a bit of a Syrian and Levantine history,” said Amr.

A fresh mix of old and new worlds that can successfully come to together, if allowed.

“It's heartbreaking because we know that the world has so much more to offer than it already does and these people just want to settle somewhere safe,” said Tawfik.