(Ottawa) A Toronto real estate developer who has worked tirelessly to help hundreds of people fleeing the Taliban settle in Canada – spending $ 50,000 to buy them basic necessities – has been hailed as a “prime example of Canadian Compassion ”by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marco Mendicino.
Wais Habibzai, who fled Afghanistan to Canada in 1992 after his home was destroyed by rocket, launched a campaign to help provide clothing and other essentials to refugees who fled Kabul.
About a thousand refugees are receiving food and housing by the government as they prepare to rebuild their lives in Canada, Habibzai said. He noted, however, that the refugees, isolated in several Toronto hotels, lacked many essentials, including clean underwear, phones and bottles.
PHOTO FROM WAIS HABIBZAI FACEBOOK PAGE
Wais Habibzai
Many of the refugees arrived with only their clothes on their backs and Mr. Habibzai bought them clothes from a big box store.
The businessman transformed the conference rooms of hotels where refugees are housed into warehouses for clothing and essentials, recruiting dozens of volunteers who act as translators and people who contribute to the relief fund.
He goes to local stores daily to purchase underwear, shoes, jeans and shirts, baby bottles, formula and personal hygiene products. He also bought chocolate, candy and toys for the children, as well as prayer rugs and hijabs for some older women.
40-year-old Habibzai said he was delighted to see young refugees, who arrived in traditional Afghan attire, walking around Toronto hotels “like real Canadians” in jeans and flag t-shirts. Canadian.
“Some came with [des vêtements traditionnels]. The next day, they were wearing the shoes, t-shirts and jeans that I had given them. I went to Walmart and bought them some Canada flag t-shirts. They loved it. They walked around like real Canadians, ”he said.
“Teenagers between the ages of 20 and 22 – they want to be modern. ”
Minister Mendicino said that welcoming Afghans “would not be possible without the generosity of Wais and so many others like him”.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mendicino
“As the Afghan refugees sought shelter from persecution and war, Canada intervened. And as refugees now start new lives in Canada, Canadians are stepping up. Few embody this spirit better than Wais Habibzai. Wais is a prime example of Canadian compassion, ”he said.
“And as a refugee himself, he embodies Canada’s ‘intergenerational cycle of immigration’ where each generation of newcomers welcomes the next,” added the Minister.
The Immigration Department says it helped 3,700 evacuees, including Canadian citizens and permanent residents, to flee Afghanistan, which recently fell to the Taliban. It has, however, been criticized for not helping enough to escape, and its special immigration program has been plagued by bureaucratic and technical problems.
Mr. Habibzai visits hotels where refugees are staying every day to find out what they need. He recruited Afghan family and friends to translate and raised thousands of dollars to supplement the $ 50,000 he spent himself.
“I said, ‘Give me a list of what you need. I’ll go buy it: diapers, milk, just say it. ”A man replied:“ I only have one pair of underwear ”. They were always asking for products like this, ”he explained.
He said refugees who had left their families behind desperately wanted to know if they were safe, but often had no way of reaching them.
Habibzai bought them cell phones and SIM cards, as well as chargers suitable for Canadian outlets, so they could stay in touch with relatives and friends hiding from the Taliban.
He also offered to house several families in his vacant homes without charging them rent for a year. But he mentioned that many newcomers have money and are well educated.
The Toronto businessman, whose father was a director of an Afghan national television station and a former diplomat, was forced to flee Afghanistan after the mujahedin – religious fighters who fought against the Russian occupation, evolving into Taliban – destroyed his house with a rocket launcher.
He arrived in Canada in 1992, at the age of 14, and said his experience as a new immigrant had motivated him to help fleeing Afghans. He wants to “give back” to the country that took him in, because he remembers how “difficult” it was for him to arrive in Canada “with nothing”.
“My father had to quit his job, and since our house was destroyed by the rocket launcher,” he said, “it was very difficult for my father to find an apartment. [au Canada] because he had no credit, no job and his English was not good. It was hard. My father was a strong man. He wanted to work, no matter what, no matter what, even though he was a diplomat for years. ”
Eventually, his father accepted a position as manager of a convenience store. Mr. Habibzai meanwhile founded his own real estate company, buying his first house at the age of 18 and selling it to finance his university fees. He now builds homes in Toronto and runs a real estate company and tech companies in Afghanistan.
“Today I’m building houses and, thanks to Canada, I was educated here. My brother played soccer professionally for Team Canada, he said. Everything is thanks to this beautiful country. And I want to give back. ”
“I tell them, ‘Look, I’m nobody. I am just this young businessman of Afghan origin. I came here, like you, with not even $ 20 in my pocket, nothing. But Canada is the land of opportunity: you can be someone ”. ”