Residents of small B.C. town help Syrian refugee realize artistic dreams

A Syrian refugee is launching a new career as an artist in a remote community in northeast B.C., forging works out of copper and donated metals in a style he learned as a child.

IsamSharkiye, 35,and his family arrived in Canada in August. They werethe first Syrian refugees to be sponsoredin Fort Nelson, B.C., a small oil and gas town near the Yukon border.

Despite being in the midst of anextended economic downturn, community members had spent the previoustwo years fundraising to sponsor a family who would be suited to life in northeast B.C.

"Because Fort Nelson's remote we needed a family with few medical issues, so it was really just luck or fate or divine interventionthat brought this family and us together," said SandyMcLean, one of the community members helping theSharkiyesget settled.

Shortly after arriving, Isam Sharkiyestarted collecting equipment from scrap yards. One community member donated a piece of copper, andSharkiyecreated his first work in Canada.

"It's amazing,"McLeansaid. "It is something so unique, so beautiful."

Sharkiyelearned the artfrom his uncle when he was about 11 years old, working on projects that were shipped around Syria and to other countries. However, that career was put on hold with the outbreak of conflict in the region and he turned to odd jobs such as taxi driving and working in grocery stores.

As the conflictworsened,Sharkiyewas shot and family members were killed, so he andhis wife and children fled. They walked roughly 1,000kilometersto Turkey, where they stayed until they were accepted into Canada.

When they saw his artistic skill, the community banded together to support his endeavour.McLeanset him up with aFacebook pageand his work was sold in communitycraft fairs leading up to Christmas. The local activity centre has donated space where he can work, while others are commissioning pieces and donating materials.

At the moment, all the money raised is goinginto buying materials forSharkiye'sworkand helping the family get established in Fort Nelson, buthe hopes to turn his art into a viable career.

Another long-term goal is to speak fluent English, butSharkiyehas learned enough to express how he feels about being in Canada working on art again.

"I am very happy for my work... and that people here like my work," he said.

• Watch a video ofSharkiyeworking

With files from Rachel Sanders