SAINT JOHN- Paying back to Saint John, New Brunswick, a group of Syrian refugees are planning a free dinner of Syrian cuisine to the city’s homeless to say thank you to the community which embraced them.

“I feel like I am part of this people,” Reham Abazid, who is planning the dinner with six other Syrian women, told CBC News on Tuesday, August 22.

“Saint Johners helped me to get food, get a home, understand the language, everything.”

Therefore, Abazid, 30, who now lives in the Crescent Valley neighborhood of the city’s north, wants to return the favor.

On Sunday, she along with six other women will prepare a free community supper of Syrian cuisine for Saint John’s homeless.

The supper, from Syrian cuisine, would include tabbouleh, rice with peas, potatoes, and grape leaves.

More than 100 people are expected to attend the dinner at the Outflow Men’s Shelter at 162 Waterloo St. at 5:30 p.m.

Abazid fled from Syria to Jordan in 2012 with her husband, young son and baby daughter after their home was bombed.

They spent three years in the capital, Amman, as displaced persons before arriving in Saint John as government-assisted refugees.

The dinner was planned after she started seeing many poor people in the city.

“I saw a lot of poor here in New Brunswick,” she said. “Not only in Crescent Valley.”

“I love to help refugees and homeless people,” she said. “I feel like I am part of this people. I think this is a good way to say thanks.”

Building Bridges

Abazid said the dinner would help counter misconceptions about refugees and spread mutual understanding.

“One month ago, I went to Social Development,” said Abazid.

“When I was parking the car, some lady was so angry. She told me, ‘Hey, you are a newcomer, you make Saint John very bad. Go to your home, I don’t like Muslims.’

“I just watched this lady, because my words could not help me to say anything.

“But I understand her. Maybe she is thinking I am a newcomer, I have a lot of help from the government, and she didn’t have anything.”

“I would love to meet her and explain to her why I am here.”

The idea to cook Syrian food for the homeless came about after Reham Abazid and her friends brought supper for the staff at the men’s shelter.

“I was very moved by her, and her story,” said Wendy Pottle of Outflow.

“They cooked the staff an amazing meal, then they agreed to provide food for the Sunday supper.

“This will be something unique and special for the people that we serve.

“They want to give back, and this is a beautiful way to do it. Having a meal and breaking bread together breaks down barriers in ways that other things can’t. People enjoying your food that you cooked with love is a wonderful way for people to connect.”

“The women are Muslim, and Outflow is a Christian organization, also conveys a powerful message,” Pottle said.

“This is a way of discovering the many ways in which we are all alike.”

What Abazid hopes to impress upon the community is that “newcomers are not just here to watch,” she said. “We want to do something for Canadians. Something to change the minds of people who decide they do not like newcomers.

“I lost my home — but Saint John is my favorite place now.”