‘Nobody survived:’ Syrian-Canadian family in Moose Jaw loses relatives in earthquake

By Cory Knutt

Mazen Alomar moved from Syria to Moose Jaw eight years ago, and he recently brought over additional family members as refugees, including his mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law.

He says last week’s earthquake, which has killed thousands, has had a devastating impact on his family.

“My dad, he lost his cousin with all his family,” Alomar said. “They were living in an apartment in Syria and the apartment went down and nobody survived, except his son’s wife. She’s alive but she’s in the hospital now.”

The family hasn’t been able to stop watching the news since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region on Feb. 6.

“We can’t sleep very well because that news broke our hearts,” continued Alomar. “My dad, that same day, he cannot sleep … he stayed awake. We wanted to make sure his cousin is OK. Later, he found out that he is not OK at all. (My dad) is always remembering him, because he was not only his cousin, he was his best friend.”

Alomar also has a sister living in Turkey who is now seeking shelter in a local school.

“She just lost her furniture, but they are fine,” said Alomar, who is hoping to bring his sister to Canada with help from a local church.

The cold weather is complicating recovery efforts with snow and rain impacting the area.

Alomar says other countries have been providing assistance to Turkey, but from what he’s heard, that response hasn’t been the same for Syria, which has been ravaged by civil war.

“Turkey, everyone is helping them. Syria, nobody is helping them except a few countries …,” he said. “They have no money. They don’t have food. They don’t have anything … Now that the earthquake came, Syria, now they are done. Nobody supports them.”

Alomar would like to see people put their differences aside during this difficult time.

“We don’t have to think about this regime, this country,” he said. “We are human beings. We have the same blood. What happened to them, that will happen to us.”

Canada has been a safe haven for refugees from around the world, including Syria. Alomar, who has four kids ranging in age from three to nine, says he couldn’t have chosen a better place to live.

“The most important thing is to find friendly people. That’s the most important thing to me,” he said. “Nobody has said to me, ‘You are a refugee, you are not Canadian, you are not a citizen here.’ That’s what happened to me when I was in Jordan. When I came, I didn’t find that anywhere.”