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Film focuses on Syrians adapting to Okanagan life

Taaloo Zorouna Visits with our Syrian Neighbours is being screened March 12 at the Rotary Centre.
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The darker realities of our time are well known to some of Kelowna’s newest residents.

As part of the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War, more than 100 Syrians moved to this city in the last year to escape unfathomable brutality.

In their new homes they found safety, but it’s not been without some challenges and the highs and lows of that experience have been recorded by a local organization helping these refugees adapt to their new world.

Kelowna Community Resources has produced a film titled Taaloo Zorouna Visits with our Syrian Neighbours and it’s being screened at 2:30 p.m. Sunday March 12, at the Rotary Centre.

“It’s really a compilation of clips,” said Dorothee Birker, who was the project co-ordinator.

“What we did is meet with some of the families and shot footage of casual conversations where we asked about their experiences, their culture, what they missed about their homes and how they’re settling in.”

Ultimately those clips will be put online so those who want to learn more about the families that have settled here can do so. Birker also personally gained a lot from the experience.

“I learned I’m grateful for the life I’ve had, the resilience of these people and the amazing humour they’ve maintained throughout this,” Birker said. “We think, ‘oh, these are sad circumstances.’ But they made us laugh so much when we were asking our questions.”

These men, women and children, she said, are generous and empathetic, even as they mourned the end of life as they knew it. They’ve found that positivity by focusing on what they can do to build the best life possible, and that’s something Birker wants the community to know.

“We did this because we wanted to dispel myths and fears,” she said. “These families didn’t choose to leave because they wanted to have a new adventure.”

They had a choice to stay (in Syria) and potentially not survive or go and build a better life.

“For all of them it was their kid’s future that brought them to Canada,” she said.

And through the filming process she had a first hand view of how those kids are starting to flourish.

“These are really casual shots offering a natural glimpse into their lives and you’ll see kids climbing on top of parents,” said Birker.

“They’re also starting to translate for the parents, which shows they’re taking an adult role in their families.”

Each video is between one and three minutes and addresses questions Canadians may have and shares perspectives and hopes from our new neighbours.

“We looked at actions we could do to help Syrians in the community. One of the things identified was that the creation of such videos would help explain and give information around Syrian life and the families and individuals moving to the community,” said Katelin Mitchell, immigrant services manager, for KCR .

“It’s an awareness piece to showcase some of the similarities and some of the things they felt important to them and what they wanted to share.”

Mitchell said the end result is wonderful and she’s excited for the community to see it this weekend.

This project was made possible with funding from the Refugee Readiness Fund which is part of the WelcomeBC umbrella of services, through funding from the Province of British Columbia.

The videos were produced in partnership with the Refugee Response Team - Thompson Okanagan and Kootenays, the ECO Art Incubator and the University of British Columbia Okanagan Creative & Critical Studies Department.

The event is free and everyone is welcome.