After escaping the , and spending the following six years living in refugee camps in Iraq and Turkey, a young family can now, finally, feel safe.

Kawa Rammo, 36, and his wife Randa Mohammad, 33, and three children Ashna, 6, Askiyar, 3, and Askivan, 1, visited the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity White Rock Sunday morning, after the churchB次元官网网址檚 regular service.

It was the first time church members got to meet the family, which they sponsored to bring to Canada.

Rammo, who has experience working on turbines for the oil and gas industry, and his wife, a music teacher, settled into New Westminster last May.

Rammo knows enough English to tell a story, his wife is still learning. However, during the coupleB次元官网网址檚 interview with Peace Arch B次元官网网址 Sunday, there was one word that caught MohammadB次元官网网址檚 attention.

B次元官网网址沦补蹿别.B次元官网网址�

When asked if they feel safe in their new country, Mohammad looked up, smiled and shook her head in the affirmative before glancing at her one-year-old son, who was sitting in her lap.

The family wore those smiles throughout the morning, shaking hands and sometimes sharing hugs, with everyone who made their new life a possibility.

Rammo explained to PAN that when Syria became dangerously unstable in 2012, he wanted to get out to protect his family. Since the civil war began in March of that year, the United Nations estimated that 400,000 Syrians and there are approximately five million refugees outside of the country.

The family is originally from , which is near the northeastern border that Syria shares with Turkey.

The family soon moved to an United Nations refugee camp in Turkey, before relocating to Iraq. In Iraq, Rammo said, they registered with a refugee camp but rented a house outside of the camp and he found work.

The six years they spent living in or near refugee camps, Rammo said, were B次元官网网址渘ot good.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 just went to work and after that I go to the home. We didnB次元官网网址檛 get to go any place, we just stayed in the home,B次元官网网址� he said.

Now, B次元官网网址渆verything is different.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淣ow we can go to the park, itB次元官网网址檚 better. Everybody here is OK. Everyone is so nice. The country is so nice, everything is good here. I feel safe,B次元官网网址� Rammo said.

Kawa Rammo and his family being introduced to church members.

As the family was being introduced to the church members Sunday, many had Peter Johnson B次元官网网址� a prominent member of the church who died in January, on their mind.

Three years ago, Johnson was the first member to pitch the idea of sponsoring a Syrian refugee family.

B次元官网网址淗e was motivated,B次元官网网址� church member Sheila Johnston told PAN, adding that her friend worked with a Syrian man at the Surrey Archives several years ago.

B次元官网网址淗e very fondly remembered a good working relationship with his Syrian/Canadian friend. It motivated Peter B次元官网网址� in honour of that friendship B次元官网网址� to tell the church that he wanted to lead a refugee group,B次元官网网址� Johnston said.

Fundraising began soon after, with church members raising $27,000 and the church itself donating $10,000 to the cause.

Everything was formalized in 2016, Johnston said, and the church prepared to bring Rammo and his family to the country in that year.

RammoB次元官网网址檚 name was selected from a list of refugee families and singles, partly because he had a young family but also because he has a cousin who has lived in the Lower Mainland for more than a decade.

B次元官网网址淲e were told to expect the family in that calendar year; that didnB次元官网网址檛 quite work out,B次元官网网址� Johnston said.

RammoB次元官网网址檚 family was supposed to be included in the approximately accepted in B.C. between Nov. 4, 2015 and February 2016.

Several churchgoers said they were unsure why there was a hold up, with some speculating that the call to postpone came from the federal government.

The relocation was postponed until mid-2017, however Mohammad had become pregnant in Iraq with her third child.

B次元官网网址淛ust when we were getting our act together, we heard that Randa was pregnant,B次元官网网址� Johnston said. B次元官网网址淥f course, a pregnant mom canB次元官网网址檛 fly after a certain number of months and a newborn baby canB次元官网网址檛 fly within the first three months of his life. We were delayed again.B次元官网网址�

In the months that followed, MohammadB次元官网网址檚 Canadian cousin Bahar Issa kept track of the family and phoned Johnston with a plea for help.

B次元官网网址淏ahar phoned me up and said the family is desperate. There was a lot of illness in the camp, a lot of children are sick,B次元官网网址� Johnston said. B次元官网网址淭he violence from Syria migrated north to Iraq B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址業s there anything you can do expedite their arrival?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Johnston told Issa that the church has done everything it could do but, thankfully, on May 8, the family arrived to Vancouver after a 48-hour trip.

And much to JohnstonB次元官网网址檚 delight, Rammo could speak English.

B次元官网网址淜awa is a pretty amazing guy, heB次元官网网址檚 ambitious,B次元官网网址� she said, noting he found work within the first month of arriving in Canada.

Rammo began working for a construction company near his two-bedroom home, which he rents.

His kids have started school and Ashna said, through translation, that she has already began making new friends.

While spending time at the church Sunday, Rammo had nothing negative to say about his new settlement. Even Canadian food, he said, is B次元官网网址渘ot bad, itB次元官网网址檚 good.B次元官网网址�

While Rammo and Mohammad shook hands with all of the churchgoers, the kids played in the ChurchB次元官网网址檚 playroom.

Standing from a distance, Johnston made an observation.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think theyB次元官网网址檝e stopped smiling since theyB次元官网网址檝e been here.B次元官网网址�