The benefits of private refugee sponsorship

Canada is unique in the world in having a program, the Privately Sponsored Refugee (PSR) program, wherein private citizens can form groups to sponsor and help settle refugees.  In 1986, this program won the UN’s Nansen Medal, the only time a whole country has been recognized by this refugee-focused award.  

Based on Canadian immigration department studies, refugees settled through the PSR model have much better long term outcomes than those who are settled by Government agencies.  For example, when compared to Government Assisted Refugees (GARs) after a year or two, PSRs have higher levels of English proficiency, are more likely to be working and at higher wage levels, are less likely to be relying on government agencies or financial support, report greater connection to their community and to the country and are less likely to return to their previous home country. 

There are a number of other very important direct and indirect benefits of the PSR model for settling refugees versus the more common Government-agency settlement model.  To begin with, since PSR’s are largely or wholly paid for out of private donations, this refugee settlement program is much more cost effective, from a Canadian taxpayer point of view.  Furthermore, for the private citizens who are involved, it is a real participatory, community-building experience which helps foster neighborhood relationships, enable cross-cultural understanding, build grass-roots support for refugee issues, increase appreciation for our communities and our country, and enhance citizens’ awareness of the challenges faced by the lower-income segments in our society.

Despite its many documented benefits versus the GAR model for settling refugees, government support for the PSR model has been modest, to say the least, over the last 40 years and it remains an under-promoted and underfunded program.   The general public’s interest and participation in the program has undergone enormous volatility over the years.  There was a major peak in 1979 / 1980 as a response to the so-called Vietnamese Boat-People crisis.   Then, after a long period of relatively low volumes with the exception of a spike during the Bosnian war, interest in the program has once again dramatically risen during the last 12 months as a result of the Syrian Crisis.  Outside of these 3 peak periods, participation in this program has been narrowly focused in faith communities or ethnic organizations rather than having a broader involvement from Canadian society as a whole.

It is also important to note that although PSR groups are executing on an important, sensitive, and complex project, that of settling and integrating into our communities vulnerable and, in some cases, traumatized people from widely different backgrounds, the Canadians who undertake these projects do so with little or no support, training, experience or qualifications.  The lack of advocates or centralized comprehensive resource supports for PSR groups leads them to feel like they are ‘going it alone’, ‘making it up as they go along’ and ‘reinventing the wheel’ in their efforts to settle refugees. 

By Andrew FitzGerald. This post has also been published on the Canada4Refugees blog. 

"The roadblock is the Canadian government"

The shocking photo of 3-year old Syrian Aylan Kurdi, found lifeless on a Turkish beach a few days ago, appears to have generated more empathy for the plight of refugees, and more media interest, than any other report about migrants in previous months. Canadians are increasingly holding their government accountable for not bringing in more refugees, especially Syrian refugees, and for letting Europe deal with the growing migrant crisis on its own. The government is far from reaching its already modest goal of bringing in 10,000 Syrians over 3 years, with only about 700 arriving in Canada last year. The CBC's The Current talked to our group member Raghu about some of the frustrations sponsorship groups such as ours are facing. Following the great, in-depth interview, Raghu was bombarded with other media requests. Hopefully the attention the migrant issue is finally getting will push the Canadian government to bring in more Syrian and other refugees as soon as possible, and to make it easier for people like us to sponsor them.

Listen to Raghu's interview: http://bit.ly/1L7nEz4

 

Where are the Syrian refugees?

The CBC's Ontario Today aired an interesting show today about what it takes to sponsor refugees, featuring the efforts of Lifeline Syria, a group that is trying to get 1000 Syrian refugees into the GTA, and others. Our very own Raghu called in and voiced some of the frustrations our group is facing:

Where are the Syrians on the sponsorship list? Why are there  bottlenecks to find sponsorship agreement holders? Why does the Canadian government make it so difficult for a motivated group such as ours to sponsor refugees?

Listen to Ontario Today: What it takes to sponsor refugees

A balance of excitement and apprehension

We're more or less ready, as a group. We've had several meetings to get to know each other, learn about the process, and discuss how we will function. We seem to have some commonalities of what motivates us: a variable blend of social action, civic responsibility, and a chafing to do something to alleviate suffering. For myself, I think I've found a balance of excitement and apprehension about embarking on this journey.

Currently, however, what's delaying us is that we have not yet been accepted by a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH). The SAH is something of the guarantor with the Canadian government, signing the contract on our behalf, saying that we will fulfill our end of the bargain to settle a refugee family. I find it strange that the SAH's recognized by Citizenship and Immigration Canada are almost all either religious groups or ethnically-based. We, as a group of secular-minded, socially-motivated, concerned citizens who are ethnically diverse and not religiously-inclined... don't seem to quite fit the mold. But surely we are not alone in our willingness to help? We will likely end up working with one of the churches, in an arrangement of convenience, but I am uneasy about the "fit" of this relationship.

Then there is the irony of the Syrian refugees. Our group--I think like many--started because we were moved to action by the continued terrible desperation in Syria. Four million Syrians have now fled their country since the conflict began. The Canadian government announced early this year that they would accept an additional 10 000 Syrian refugees. But there are no Syrians "available" on the lists of government-approved refugees awaiting settlement, despite that many other groups are waiting and willing to help them settle. There is a bureaucratic bottleneck somewhere. I think it's tragic. 

We've decided that there are many people in great need, so we will not insist on Syrians. Indeed, there are many hidden conflicts and forgotten human rights issues. The lists include Eritreans, Congolese, Burmese, and others. The Syrian crisis motivated many of us; I can only hope that our motivation can also benefit the Syrian people who have been affected.

By Wendy Lai