After arriving in Powell River with his family, Rezq Dayekh wasted no time becoming involved in his new community.
He has a job working as a summer student for Lafarge on Texada Island, has started looking into attending Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, made some new friends and has been practicing with Powell River Villa soccer club.
It is a better future than the one he left behind in Syria, he said. Dayekh is the eldest son of the second refugee family to arrive in Powell River in the past two weeks.
“Powell River is a very quiet place, nice place and nice people,” said 21-year-old Dayekh. “I would like it busier. People go to sleep at 9 pm. In our country, when the sun sets, that’s when we go out.”
His family left Aleppo, Syria in 2012 due to civil war. “It was bombing all the time,” he said. “Helicopters shooting, guns shooting. No electricity. No water. It was bad. Everybody is fighting everybody.”
Dayekh said it was his idea for his family to come to Canada. “I worked for it, for me and my family,” he said.
Because their application was delayed, Dayekh was worried the family would not be allowed to immigrate.
“When we applied they told us we were delayed because of the security checks Canada makes,” he said, “because they don’t want terrorists in their country, of course.”
He and his father, Gaby and mother, Rania Shakkal, along with brothers Daniel, 18, Elia, four, and sister Noella, 10, arrived in Canada from Jordan on June 23. Two days later, sponsored by Church of the Assumption, they were in Powell River.
“They are settling in,” said Dayekh. “My mom is happy. She goes out a lot. She’s made friends. My father and her are learning English now through immigration services and they like it. It’s safer here. Everybody likes to be safe and they know it’s a better future for the whole family.”
As for his own future, Dayekh said he wants to study mechatronics, a multi-disciplinary field that combines mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, control and computer engineering systems.
Put simply, he wants to make robots. “I love science and I love making things,” he said.
Dayekh also wants to play soccer, and by his own admission, he is good. His English is also very strong.
“My brother and I learned English from watching movies,” he said. “I started watching movies when I was seven or eight. I was learning English through movies movies every day. He said his favourites are Marvel and DC superheroes.”
Dayekh said he hopes to become a Canadian citizen. “If I work for it and they tell me I can become a Canadian citizen,” he said, “I can visit the whole world.”
According to Dayekh, his life right now is work, study and play. “I don’t have spare time,” he said. “In my spare time, I spend a lot of time with my family.”
