UU150 Study Guide - Final Guide: Toronto Pearson International Airport
The Arrival
The Rahal family arrives in Toronto Pearson Airport in the middle
of February. Their plane touches down and Ali, the youngest son
of three at 12 years of age, notices that the airport is much like
the one flew out of in Turkey. He wasn't old enough to remember
the airport he and his family flew out of in Syria. Ali jostles with
his bags and among his family with their belongings. He is one of
17 families of Syrian refugees coming by way of Turkey. Ali
wonders how long he'll call Toronto, a name he has trouble
pronouncing, home.
Ali's father, Mohammed, is standing at a desk with a government
official and someone who is first speaking in English and
translating this to Arabic. Ali thinks of how excited he'll be to
return to school. He went to school in the Kahramanmaraş
refugee camp where he lived with tens of thousands of other
people. He already missed his teachers who came to volunteer
their time from local school in the nearest Turkish town but he
was happy to be out of the tent he and his family called home for
the last 6 years. He knew he was lucky however. His eldest
brother Muhammed had said that the average time a family
spends in these camps is around 17 years. He couldn't imagine
spending 17 years in a single tent with all his brothers and sisters
and his grandfather. He had met other Syrian families as they
made their way from the city of Kahramanmaraş to Antalya for
their long plan ride. There, he learned that his camp was
considered to be relatively safe (tucked far enough north that
there were fewer instances of violent attacks from extremist
groups). His camp also had water and food most days, as well as
doctors and schools. He hadn't realized how lucky he was until he
met these other families and heard his father and theirs, talking
about it over tea the night before they left.
What Ali couldn't get over however was the use of electricity
here. Everything was so bright and there were so many fully-lit
lights hanging down from the ceiling. He couldn't understand the
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Document Summary
The rahal family arrives in toronto pearson airport in the middle of february. Their plane touches down and ali, the youngest son of three at 12 years of age, notices that the airport is much like the one flew out of in turkey. He wasn"t old enough to remember the airport he and his family flew out of in syria. Ali jostles with his bags and among his family with their belongings. 17 families of syrian refugees coming by way of turkey. Ali wonders how long he"ll call toronto, a name he has trouble pronouncing, home. Ali"s father, mohammed, is standing at a desk with a government official and someone who is first speaking in english and translating this to arabic. Ali thinks of how excited he"ll be to return to school. He went to school in the kahramanmara refugee camp where he lived with tens of thousands of other people.
