Witnessing is not Enough: Private Refugee Sponsorship with Canada’s “Group of Five”

Anyone living outside of Canada for a time understands the hardship that people face in other places, particularly those that are war-torn. With that knowledge comes a deep feeling of responsibility. I, for example, know that people are suffering ‘out there’, while I have my needs met through a blend of community-minded policies for Canadians. I know they are also running and scared, while I am privileged not to have experienced war or displacement. I know this, not because it is my personal lived experience, but because I have witnessed the hunger and despair of beautiful families caught up in the turmoil of political and climate collapse.

Yet witnessing is not enough, and so what can average Canadians do in the face of global suffering by millions upon millions of people? Raging publicly, if articulate and well-targeted, helps to a degree. But for pragmatic people like me? We want to do something that is real and that will have a lasting impact.

Cue the Canadian private sponsorship program called the Group of Five. This is where groups of five or more Canadians can sponsor refugees abroad to live in Canada permanently. I may not be able to help everyone everywhere, but along with a small group of friends and neighbours, I have been privileged to make life-altering differences to a few families by tapping into this program. Indeed, for over 40 years, programs like the Group of Five and community sponsors have become a model for other countries around the world bringing hope to hundreds of thousands of refugees.

In our case, we teamed up with the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) who prepared budgets, liaised with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (ICRC), and ensured that the sponsorship application we eventually put forward was handled in the most efficient manner possible.

It would have been too easy to sink into despair at the daily onslaught of global atrocities. Instead, we were able to provide for a single family at a time. We might not have stopped the war in Syria, but a family was forever grateful when our Group of Five ensured that two young Syrian brothers found their way from a refugee camp in Lebanon to Canada after the rest of the family ended up in Denmark.

In their case, no other country was willing to take two male teens from Syria in fear that they might have become radicalized. But after extensive vetting they landed in our midst, and we provided a fully furnished apartment and enough financial support to see them through their first year. More important, along with the ICA we provided a network to help them successfully navigate the unfamiliar Canadian social system. Both are married men now, Canadian small-business entrepreneurs, and proud fathers. This is doing something for a single family in plight while also doing something positive for Canada.

Of course, private sponsorship was not without its hiccups. Raising funds to support these Muslim boys was not well received by many of our friends. Those that spoke to us about their concerns worried that we were bringing in potentially violent people that would ultimately be a threat to Canadians. Others resented our promoting the support of outsiders when there are so many Canadian families who are suffering. This is a valid concern, and I support anyone that makes helping Canadian families in distress a priority. However, I am fully convinced that most of my peers can do both: we can support those in need here, and at the same time also support those in absolute stateless destitution. My frustration comes with those that use this as an excuse to not help anyone at all. Please don’t dismiss my efforts to help someone to absolve yourself from not doing anything at all.

This first private sponsorship we commenced took time, energy and commitment that consumed us all. The group gradually dissolved as the Syrian brothers found their way here in Canada. We thought we were done with sponsoring until a call came about a young Afghan teen who had just graduated with a full scholarship at a local high school – Pearson College.

In August 2021, we watched as the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan, coinciding with the conclusion of Fatima’s successful completion of the International Baccalaureate program at Pearson College. An educated female, she is also Hazara, which is the most persecuted minority in Afghanistan. Her father had been killed by the Taliban, her two brothers were in hiding, and her mother and sisters were living in fear. Fatima could not return home, but she had nowhere permanent to stay.

So, a room in our home, recently vacated by our son, became Fatima’s new home. She suffered greatly as she worried constantly about her family. She wasn’t sleeping or eating well. What Fatima needed was her family, and most of all, she needed her mother. And so, with Fatima to help tell her story, we embarked on another Group of Five private sponsorship.

The situation in Afghanistan was much in the news and Fatima’s story was a compelling one. People were outraged by the gender apartheid and violence against the Hazara people. Our group was more adept at fundraising by this time, and we were fortunate to have been able to attract larger donations than those for the Syrian brothers. Although it seemed an endless wait to Fatima, her mother, older brother, and younger sister arrived a year later. A separate application was embarked on when the eldest brother was able to secure passports for his wife and infant son. They arrived 10 months later. A final sister had made her way to the US where she is a fully sponsored university student. We sighed with relief thinking that everyone was safe, and the group dug into the longer-term social support of this family.

Today, the Afghan family we sponsored has fully joined the Canadian mosaic. Fatima received a top scholarship to UBC, and her sister has become a dental assistant. One brother is working to support his family as an auto body repairman and his wife tailors at a local shop. The other brother is studying at our local college and is well on his way to being self-sufficient. I worry most about Fatima’s mother as she has struggled the most to adjust as a single mother in a foreign land. The ICA in Victoria has supported her with language classes, and supported all the others in various ways, including psychological support for all the trauma experienced by this family.

Sadly, due to a “large application inventory and growing processing times” the Canadian government paused the Group of Five sponsorship program in November 2024, a measure that will remain in effect until the end of this year. However, for anyone that feels inspired to support a refugee family through the Group of Five program in the future, I have some suggestions:

• Some kind of connection to the refugee family in question is truly helpful. For the Syrian brothers, it was a frantic uncle and aunt in Canada; for the Afghan family it was a lost teen, Fatima, here telling her story over and over until people listened and she was able to bring her family to safety.

• Diversity in your group of concerned Canadians makes such a difference. One of our members is a retired lawyer and was able to address some of the legal immigration hurdles, another is a retired doctor who helped us all understand issues such as TB testing and health concerns on arrival. A key player was our “organizer”, who took meeting notes, kept our action items moving, and activated a team effort to locate almost all household items, and by doing so effectively reduced the budget we needed to fundraise. One member had just put her three children through university and knew the ins-and-outs of getting scholarships, navigating the course choices, online registration, and housing. One of us is the key communicator, ensuring that we were staying on track and meeting all our new friend’s needs. If a ‘group of five’ is minimum, a group of ten committed caring sponsors is better. A shared load becomes joyful movement forward.

• Anticipate that there will be tough spots that you will have to get through. Refugees will be worried while they wait. They will have health issues. Fundraising may be tough and feel as though it has bottomed out. Hang in there and get through the tough times together.

Our group recently said, “never again”. “That’s it; we’re done”. We thought we were done because it really is an intense, long-term commitment. That is until we heard about eleven-year-old Zahra. Younger sister to Fatima’s sister-in-law, Zahra was taken from her classroom by four Taliban in July 2024. She was with them in a room alone for some time, and when released she would not speak, would barely eat, and only slept when her mother was by her side. The family heard that a Taliban soldier wanted to marry her. Yes, you read that right: she is eleven years old and about to become the child bride to an enemy soldier.

When the Taliban finally came for their daughter, her parents lied and said she was visiting relatives. That night they packed up and fled the country leaving behind their home and businesses. We now have a Group of Five application to bring her mother, father and Zahra to join her sister in Canada. If that’s a story that compels you to action, why not head to the ICA website as our group is actively raising funds for this private sponsorship.

Many might wonder why we have taken it upon ourselves to privately sponsor families as we, the entire group, have our own families and jobs, and busy lives. I say to those people that when I watch the news or read about the latest global atrocity, I know that while I can’t change what is happening, I can change the lives of a few people. One family at a time. It doesn’t stop my anguish, but it does give me a sense of making a difference, no matter how small.