A crowd gathered in the airport of the central Canadian city to greet the tired but happy family of eight with cheers.
Canada’s refugee sponsorship system has made global headlines as the country welcomed 28,755 Syrian refugees in the eight months from early November 2015 to early July 2016. Of that total, 10,212 were privately sponsored, according to the most recent statistics from the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
In a private sponsorship, individual Canadians or private organizations commit to provide financially for the sponsored refugees for one year and to ease their transition into Canadian life.
Operation Ezra describes itself as “the only comprehensive Yazidi refugee relief project in Canada and indeed the world,” in a statement published on its website. “This is an unprecedented community-wide undertaking involving dedicated community members from all walks of life.”
The sponsorship was conceived by the Jewish group Winnipeg Friends of Israel but it grew to become a multi-faith partnership with local groups of a variety of faiths. Local businesses have donated basic necessities the families will need and volunteering youth groups have been busy delivering furniture and collecting donated items.
“The Jewish Community undertook Operation Ezra (the Hebrew word for help) because it was the right thing to do,” they state on their website.
“The Yazidis are an ancient ethno-religious group who originated in Mesopotamia and are based primarily in Iraq. They have been subjected to over 73 massacres throughout history and today are being slaughtered and tortured. Women and girls are being sold into sex slavery by ISIS. The Yazidis are a monotheistic people without a homeland and whose population has been decimated: once 23 million, today only 700,000 Yazidis remain.”
Operation Ezra is reminiscent of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah where 125,000 Iraqi Jews were airlifted to Israel in 1950 and 1951 in what Israel terms a “rescue mission” after the Iraqi government began oppressing the Jewish community. Jews were prohibited from moving within the country, attending schools, and were refused medical care in hospitals.
The family, which was living in a refugee camp in Midyat, southeast Turkey, was originally due to arrive on June 30 but was delayed because of violence in Turkey. Two days before they were due to fly, a triple suicide attack was made on Istanbul’s airport.
"We are so happy at what is happening tonight, but it is bittersweet because there are so many other Yazidis that are suffering, and we are hoping that we can see Yazidis find a safe haven in Canada," Belle Jarniewski, a member of Operation Ezra, told CBC News.
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