[URBAN NOTE] "Syrian refugees find ‘new family’ at first jobs in Canada"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Nicholas Keung notes how Adonis Supermarket is doing good for Syrian refugees.

On any given day, when shoppers walk into Adonis Supermarket, they will likely be greeted by a recently arrived Syrian refugee.

Since Canada opened its doors in November to resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees, the Middle Eastern grocery chain has brought many of them onto its payroll in Quebec and Ontario, including several dozen at its two Greater Toronto locations, at Warden and Eglinton Aves., in Scarborough, and its sister store in Mississauga.

Founders — Elie Cheaib, Georges Ghrayed and Jamil Cheaib — are immigrants from Lebanon, and they, like many others, were touched by the refugee crisis and wanted to do their part to show support for Canada’s massive Syrian resettlement plan, said store manager Hani Tawil.

“Our new hires are all highly skilled and educated. They used to be lawyers, doctors and engineers back home. They all need somewhere to start because nobody knows them and they need to survive and be independent as soon as possible,” said Tawil, who, himself, moved here with his family from the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo in 2012.

“It’s not an option to come for them. They all had wonderful lives before. It’s the same for me. On my son’s fourth birthday, he said his wish was to become a shooter because he didn’t want to die. That’s when I decided to leave. We all deserve a better future.”