Arzoo and Yama, a couple in their mid-30s, are living in a two-bedroom condo unit in North York near Seneca College. Their son, Behtash, eight, and daughter Aylin, six, are enjoying Grade 3 and Grade 1, respectively, at a nearby school. Arzoo is working as an accountant, while her husband, Yama, is a health and safety officer at a downtown hotel.
They all feel very fortunate to be living a fulfilling life when only a few years ago they were forced to flee their homeland of Afghanistan after receiving death threats from the Taliban. (Note: we are only using their first names out of concern for the wellbeing of their family back home.)
Arzoo’s journey began when her impoverished mother took her to an orphanage in Afghanistan where she could be better cared for and educated. After a story about the orphanage aired on American television in 2009, Betty and Gabriel Barna, who live in Texas, were so moved that they decided to sponsor the 13-year-old Arzoo through her schooling and university.
After the U.S. started withdrawing their troops in 2021, the Taliban became more powerful. Because Arzoo and Yama were working for international organizations, they were targeted by the Taliban. Arzoo adds that she was a “female activist,” and Yama worked for the BBC. At that point, the Barnas helped them to escape to Tajikistan on the last plane out, but there was still a threat of deportation back to Afghanistan.
The Barnas wanted to get the couple to a safe country and felt that Canada was a better choice than the U.S. They contacted Gabriel’s cousin Laszlo Barna and his wife Laura Alper in North York. Laura, an experienced lawyer with several contacts, tried many options that did not work out, but then learned from her friend Bonnie Mills, a member of Leaside United, that the church has a history of successfully sponsoring refugees, helping about 14 groups since 1961.
Laura, Laszlo and Leaside United’s Community Refugee Resettlement Committee became the co-sponsors of Arzoo and Yama in January 2022 and started the long and complex process of completing and submitting the sponsorship package of forms. Committee co-chair Bob Lister says they ran into a few problems with the forms, but surprisingly, Yama was able to solve them himself in Tajikistan. Once he and Arzoo got their visas, they arrived in Toronto on October 12, 2023.
Arzoo reports that within a month they had obtained their OHIP cards and SIN numbers and were settled in a comfortable and affordable condo, thanks to a friend of Laszlo’s. They also received furniture, kitchen items, clothes and gifts for the children from the church and church families, for which they are very grateful.
Yama and Arzoo found it challenging to find jobs without any Canadian work experience, but with support from their sponsor group members, they got temporary jobs that gave them the necessary experience and led to their current positions. They also hope to update their education to qualify for their ideal jobs in the future.
Arzoo says they are very happy and grateful to be living in Canada with great new friends, a lovely apartment and good jobs. She says she especially appreciates “living in a peaceful and secure country where I have the right of walking outside freely, wearing clothes that I want, having the right of speech and not being the slave of men. I wish that one day every Afghan woman will have this feeling.”
Bob Lister remembers fondly the day when the family shared their story at church and comments that “the call to love and help one another is more important than ever, given the current turmoil and suffering in the world. We are thankful that as a church family we can continue to answer the call.”
To learn more about the work of the refugee committee at Leaside United Church, contact Bob Lister at .
