Syrian refugees celebrate Armenian Christmas in Vancouver

Syrian refugees celebrate Armenian Christmas in Vancouver –

Vancouver (cknw.com) – Syrian refugees celebrated their first Armenian Christmas in Canada today at St. Gregory’s Church in Richmond.

Hundreds of people welcomed the new families, including defence minister Harjit Sajjan.

The father of a family who arrived to Canada 10 days ago, couldn’t believe they are finally here.

“We feel very happy that we are surrounded by the Armenian community, and church members. We feel at home because we’ve felt very welcomed since we’ve arrived to Canada.”

Chairman of the Armenian National Committee, Vic Andonian, says he is very happy to see the support towards Syrian refugees in Vancouver.

But although he is thankful for the continuous support, the newly arrived families still need a lot of help.

“Any help is needed, not just monetary help, even with furniture and household goods”

Andonian says they’ve received lots of donated clothing, and although they are grateful, he explains it’s been difficult to handle.

“The whole community is 300 people big and small, so by the time we take them to the church we really are overwhelmed with the sorting of the clothes.”

He says larger items are easier to handle and are more needed by families, such as beds or microwaves.

Andonian says people interested in helping can find more information on the church’s website.

St. Gregory’s Church is the largest sponsor of Syrian refugees in British Columbia.