Refugees in B.C.: Prince George welcomes family living in Lebanon for 2 years - Action News
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British Columbia

Refugees in B.C.: Prince George welcomes family living in Lebanon for 2 years

A Syrian couple and their three grown children arrived at Prince George's airport early Friday morning to welcome signs from community members that said, "You are home."

Community raises $50,000 to sponsor family

Pastor Mark Wessner, left, and Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall, next left, pose with Syrian newcomers and well-wishers at the Prince George airport on Jan.8, 2015. (Facebook)

Prince George has joined a growing list of B.C. cities to welcome refugees from Syria.

A couple and their three children who range in age from 18 to 23 arrived early Friday morning to a group of community members who welcomed the family. One sign held by the welcoming committee read "you are home now."

The family fled Syria in 2013 and has been living in Lebanon for the past two years.

They flew from there to Toronto, then through Vancouver to their final stop of Prince George and are being sponsored byWestwoodChurch which has raised $50,000 to help the family settle.

"To adequately cover the initial and ongoing expenses of starting a new life in Prince George," wrote Mark Wessner, lead pastor at the church in an e-mail to CBC News.

Westwood began the process of sponsoring a Syrian family in Oct. 2014.

Hira Rashid of Prince George's Muslim community holds a sign reading, "you are home now," as she and others welcomed a refugee family to the Central B.C. city.` (Hira Rashid/Facebook)
Prince George's Guilliana Tamblyn, third from left, welcomes a Syrian family, which the community has raised $50,000 to support in Canada. (Hira Rashid)