Montreal factory gives Syrian refugees jobs, French classes, tips to integrate

When Syrian refugee Garouj Nazarian is asked how helikes working for his boss, the answer comes in choppy English butthe sentiment shines through.

"So much good," he says with a big smile, offering a thumbs-upto emphasize his joy.

• Handcrafted buttons welcome Syrian refugees to Quebec
• Syrian refugees touch down at Montreal's Trudeau airport
• Vanier College teachers to sponsor Syrian refugee family

Nazarian, who's been in Canada for about a year, has been workingfor six months at a Montreal plywood factory owned by Levon Afeyan,who fled Lebanon's civil war with his parents and two brothers in1975.

"I like working here very well," Nazarian says in Englishbefore finishing his answer "to take care of my family" in
Armenian.

Nazarian is one of 12 Syrian refugees among 80 employees andAfeyan intends to hire more as Canada opens its borders to thousandsof people fleeing the Assad regime and the Islamic State.

A permanent move

One of the most difficult things for the Syrian refugees Afeyanemploys is to accept that their move to Canada is likely a permanentone.

"They haven't grasped that yet," he says. "It takes time for aman to accept the fact that, well, this is it. I've lost
[everything]."

Afeyan is the boss, but he's also a pseudo social worker,overseeing a factory where immigrants from conflict zones around theworld earn money for their families but also learn life skills andare paid to take French lessons.

His business, Seatply Products Inc., makes curved plywood used inchairs throughout North America.

The employees press plywood and glue veneers to create colourfulcombinations. They also cut and drill the wood with robotic machinesand, while most of the production doesn't require an advanced skillset, it's work.

"They need a job to have respect," Afeyan says."Respect is abig thing in the Middle East. A man has to be arespectable man.Without a job he doesn't have that."

'We have to give them time'

The low price of oil and the sinking dollar have triggered manylayoffs across the country but for Seatply, it's time to hire.

On a tour of his factory, Afeyan intercepts VasudevanRatnasinghamfrom Sri Lanka, a country whose civil war ended in2009 after 26 years.

Ratnasingham has become the supervisor of the pre-pressing veneerdepartment.

"I came to Canada 15 years ago," Ratnasingham says. "This wasmy first job and my last job!"

Not far away is Vrej Baboian, a refugee from Iraq who moved toCanada in 2009.

The former car engineer is a sort of mentor to many Syrians whohave started working at Seatply.

"We saw a lot of talent in him," Afeyan states. "He becamesupervisor of his small team, then floor manager. Now he's afull-fledged foreman in one of our of departments."

Baboian, his walk brimming with confidence, says his first pieceof advice to refugees is simple: "Find a job. Don't depend on thegovernment, depend on yourself."

Afeyan believes refugees are often in shock when they arrive andadds that finding a job is critical to integrating successfully.

"We have to give them time," he says. "Let them talk about itand slowly come to the realization that 'I am now a full-fledgedCanadian. My children will become Canadian. And Canada is my newhome."'

'Syriansneed tofeel part of our society."

Essential to feeling Canadian, Afeyan adds, is to start speakingEnglish and, particularly in Quebec, French.

Starting in March, a teacher subsidized by the Quebec governmentwill offer French lessons twice a week for free inside hisfactory.

His employees have to stay an extra hour before or after theirshifts to learn French, but they are paid to do so.

"We will encourage all of them to take the class and we'll tellthem not to say no," he says with a smile.

And aside from language, Afeyan and his managers also teachrefugees about elements of daily life other Canadians take forgranted, such as efficient driving.

"We teach them about carpooling," he says. "This is a conceptthey have never heard about. They like it very much by the way."

While all Canadians can't offer refugees jobs, they can helptheir integration by accepting displaced Syrians "not just as
refugees but as new Canadians," according to Afeyan.

He remembers what it felt like to be 16 years old and living in anew country.

"The best thing that ever happened to me is that one of myfriends' parents invited me to their dinner," he recalls.

"That was amazing. I was actually invited to someone's house fordinner. I was 16 and someone actually invited me. [Syrians]need tofeel part of our society."