ZCZC
BFF-08
CANADA-REFUGEE-EMERGENCY-CONFLICT
Canada to resettle group of Syrian White Helmets
OTTAWA, Oct 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Canada is preparing to welcome a group of
Syrian White Helmets rescuers, officials said on Friday, without specifying
when they will be resettled.
“Together with a core group of international allies, Canada is working to
resettle a group of White Helmets and their families after they had to flee
Syria as a result of being specifically targeted by the Syrian regime and its
backer, Russia,” Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Ahmed Hussen,
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said in a joint statement.
“As first responders, the White Helmets have witnessed first-hand some of
the most appalling crimes committed by the murderous Assad regime. Canada has
supported the work of the White Helmets by helping them to expand, train more
volunteers, train more women and save more lives,” they said, referring to
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In July, following the evacuation of 400 White Helmets from Syria to
Israel and then to Jordan, Canada announced that it was ready to accommodate
50 of them and their families, for a potential total of 250 people.
Jordan said Wednesday a group of 279 Syrian rescue workers has left the
kingdom for resettlement in Western countries.
Founded in 2013, the Syrian Civil Defense, or White Helmets, is a network
of first responders who rescue wounded in the aftermath of air strikes,
shelling or blasts in rebel-held territory.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0927 hrs