First Syrian refugees to settle in Sudbury celebrate end of the Assad regime
CBC
Hussein Qarqouz says he hasn't felt much happiness since his family fled Syria and eventually settled in Sudbury, Ont., in 2016.
But he couldn't help but feel joy when he followed the news that rebel forces took the country's capital, Damascus, on Sunday and declared Syria liberated from the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
"After 14 years [of civil war] I pray all the time. God help the Syrian people. They need freedom," Qarqouz said.
"I am better now."
In 2012, Qarqouz and his family fled to neighbouring Lebanon where they lived for four years before coming to Canada.
He says many of his friends and family members were killed by the Assad regime.
In 2011, he was imprisoned for more than two months after he participated in a protest that occurred outside his business – a bakery.
"They hit me every day, no healthy food, nothing. I see people die," he said.
In 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Office estimated more than 300,000 Syrians were killed in the country's civil war up to that point.
It's estimated the war has displaced 13 million Syrians, and some 6.7 million refugees were forced to leave the country.
After settling in Sudbury, Qarqouz and his sons started a successful restaurant called Damascus Shawarma, which serves some traditional Syrian baked goods in addition to the titular dish.
On Monday, he was sharing hugs with friends and regulars who offered their congratulations on the recent events in the country.
"This Friday, I need to give people, my customers 50 per cent off because of my country's freedom," he said.
To celebrate Syria's liberation from the Assad regime, Qarqouz said he also plans to give way 200 free meals to people experiencing homelessness in Sudbury.
Jason Bradley spent 20 years of his career as ranch manager at a 50,000-acre grazing operation in west-central Alberta, so he understands why people react with skepticism to the idea of raising a herd of cattle on a working solar farm.
B.C. Ferries cancelled trips between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island as a windstorm slammed into the southwest coast of British Columbia on Christmas Day.
Every year, CBC Hamilton reporters meet some of the most interesting people in the Hamilton, Burlington and the Niagara regions and tell you their stories.
Some small boutiques in Windsor-Essex have given the 2024 holiday shopping season mixed reviews, saying that customers seem to be tightening their belts in the face of a rising cost of living.
A northwestern Ontario township and its mayor have filed a notice of application for a judicial review of a recent human rights decision made over the township's refusal to declare June as Pride Month.
One person is dead and another is in critical condition after a house fire in Scarborough.
For the first time in 19 years, Hanukkah will fall on the same day as Christmas. Beginning at sundown, the eight-day celebration will be celebrated across the region and beyond.
The spirit of the season is strong in Dawson City, Yukon — and Jim Bob Titus's house has a lot to do with that.
Waseem Kazzah never imagined he'd see a day when he could return to his family's home in Damascus and visit the loved ones he was forced to leave behind in Syria more than a decade ago.
Deep in the vaults at The Rooms in St. John's are dozens of artifacts telling the stories of holidays past, from religious traditions and superstitions, to toys and ornaments.
From knitting blankets for the less fortunate to saving someone who fell into a manhole, Nova Scotians showed their kindness this year.