Empty storage fund: For recent Afghan refugees, Christmas is as unfamiliar as rain

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One afternoon in mid-December, several recent refugees from Afghanistan gathered in an abandoned Surrey Safeway for a crash course at Christmas.

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Sitting in folding chairs near the front of the store, Afghans were here to collect toys for their children. This year, the former supermarket space has been loaned to the Surrey Christmas Bureau. A couple of aisles in the middle have donated toys on their shelves. Near the front of the store, a life-size replica of Santa Claus and a Christmas tree flank a green background for photos.

For new immigrants, everything is a bit strange. Less than a year ago, Christmas for them was something they only saw in Western movies.

Now, they live next door to houses festooned with seasonal lights, are bombarded with Christmas music, and are faced with new hot drink options like eggnog with milk. And meet here to order Barbies, bikes and remote control cars with the helpful staff and volunteers at the Christmas Office.

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“Everything is new to me, I just saw these things in a movie,” said Delawar Pasoon, who was here to pick up a doll for her daughter. “I am very excited to be here in Canada.”

Along with his older brother Khan Samindar, 23-year-old Pasoon worked as an interpreter for the Canadian Armed Forces. When he and his family were unable to reach Kabul airport last summer, they fled to Pakistan. From Islamabad they headed to London, then Toronto, where they stayed for a month before reaching Surrey. Now, Pasoon rents a house in Surrey with his wife Aqila and their two-year-old daughter Asma, as well as his sister and three children and his brother and sister-in-law.

The Surrey Christmas Office provides a small toy, a medium toy, a large toy, a stocking and a new book for all children in each registered family. Each family also receives grocery vouchers, says CEO Lisa Werring.

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The office is among several Lower Mainland charities and services that receive funding from the Empty Stocking Fund.

The fund, now in its 103rd year, has the support of La Provincia readers. Funds can be donated at theprovince.com/esf, by mail at The Province Empty Stocking Fund, 1870 Pandora Street, Vancouver, BC V5L 1M5, and by calling 604-253-6911.

“We need a lot of money for those grocery vouchers,” Werring said. “The Empty Stocking Fund is an integral part of making sure we get those meals on to families’ tables. Gifts and toys for kids are wonderful, but the real treasures are the memories that are built around the kitchen table when you share those special meals. “

This Monday afternoon in Surrey, Pasoon’s brother Khan Samindar is also at the makeshift toy yard. He worked as an interpreter from 2006 until arriving in Canada in 2010.

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“When you come here, you realize how lucky you are that you are not facing the danger in your country that you face every day,” said Samindar, sitting next to Pasoon. “For me now everything is normal. These guys who are new here are getting used to the weather, to a lot of rain. In Afghanistan, it hardly rains five times a year. Here it is five times a week. “

When asked what the strangest thing about Christmas is for him, Pasoon looks up at the cheery accessory dressed in red and white, ready for photos, near the front door of the old supermarket. Samandar answers for his brother: “Santa Claus.”

Two representatives from the Veterans Transition Network, Oliver Thorne and Deb Laidler, will help oversee the gift giving this Monday afternoon. Since August, the network has been working to raise funds to support efforts to evacuate Afghans who worked with the Canadian Armed Forces and their families, says Thorne, who is the organization’s executive director.

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On this side of the journey, volunteers like Laidler help new immigrants acclimate to their unfamiliar surroundings and introduce them to services like the Surrey Christmas Bureau.

“I’ve filled my car probably 15 times with everything from diapers to serving spoons to irons and used sewing machines” to take home to families, she says.

Laidler’s son Tim is still abroad, where he is helping Afghans who want to come to Canada.

“The reason VTN got involved is that the veterans made their voices heard that they wanted to see the people they served and worked with brought to safety,” Thorne said. “What we’re seeing is veterans and their families literally rushing through the doors and bringing them in to help them settle down and make the transition to Canada.”

Laidler says her son’s life was saved multiple times by his interpreter, Khan Samindar.

“It saved Tim from being bombed. He knew where the underground explosives were so they could take different paths. They did it for eight months. “