By Greg Higgins

Group bringing refugee family to N.B. faces more road blocks

Nov 9, 2016 | 11:00 AM

A Syrian refugee family scheduled to arrive in the New Year, may have to wait longer than expected.

Living Skies refuge is roughly $22,000 short of their $40,000 goal to bring a Kurdish Syrian family of four to North Battleford. The family is currently located in a refugee camp in Northern Iraq, roughly 60 km from Mosul. There is a heavy military presence in the city attempting to push ISIL out.

Nicole Leinenweber is the president of the Living Skies Refuge and said the conflict in Mosul has broken down communication with the family.

“We had a few weeks there where we were unable to get a hold of the family,” Leinenweber said. “[The father] did email us recently advising that they are still there and the region is very unstable. We are concerned about them and their safety right now.”

Leinenweber added the family’s moods have shifted dramatically from excitement to desperation since the siege has intensified. She recently received news the mother of the family is pregnant with her third child and is due in March. The family currently has an eight-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

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The original plan was to bring the family to North Battleford in the New Year, but Leinenweber worried if they are forced to wait too long the mother won’t be allowed to fly.

The time frame is more “up in the air than usual.” She was expecting an emergency visa officer to visit the area before the siege, but now it is unclear where the officer will be in the near future.

“Our primary goal is to ensure they are in a safe place and they are able to adapt to life here,” Leinenweber said.

According to the President of Living Skies Refuge they are accepting donations on their website and Facebook page but haven’t yet planned a fundraiser. Right now the program is asking businesses for gift cards the family can use to buy food and other resources.    

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.