Wednesday, November 11, 2015

"You Shouldn't Have to Pay Somebody to Resettle to Canada. There Are So Many Canadians Who Want to Help For Free"

True enough. But according to Lifeline Syria, that hasn't prevented "unscrupulous people" from taking advantage of the refugee crisis to enrich themselves:
In the rush to meet the commitment of the Canadian government to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, there have sprung up some unscrupulous people trying to mine the situation for financial gain.  These people offer to connect refugees with sponsorship groups and submit the paperwork for a fee...
Lifeline Syria has held pro-bono legal clinics where volunteer lawyers work alongside interpreters and other volunteers to help sponsorship groups apply to bring Syrian refugee families to Canada — for free. 
Very nice and très helpful. My question, though: who's funding all this pro-bono activity?

Oh, sure, the Lifeline Syria website includes a list of high (or high-ish) profile Canadians who have lent their name to the initiative, but they're supporters, not funders; high-fivers, not the moneybags. Most of them are Arabs, but there are a number of infidels too. Barbara Hall? Baruch Frydman-Kohl? Adrienne Clarkson? Michael Ondaatje? All I can say is oy to the vey! (Speaking of Michael Ondaatje, he seems keen to lend his name to various trendy efforts.)

No comments: