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Today Cindy Csordas talked to a Syrian-born man who lives in Mississauga, who says many of his family members have been murdered in his home country.  He says even though he’s tried to sponsor survivors of his family to come to Canada, the refugee application keeps getting denied.

Samir Jisri says the Canada he came to 22 years ago isn’t the same country now. And a local immigration and refugee lawyer here in Hamilton backs up Samir’s claim that trying to bring Syrian refugees here is next to impossible.

Samir says for 22 years he’s lived in peaceful Canada with his 3 children and wife but he is not at peace. Especially when he sees people in his home country of Syria murdered, lost to violence or drowned trying to escape it.

“Who doesn’t cry when they say Aylan, I have a 3 years old Zack and looking at Aylan, 2 or 3 years old and his brother and their mom died.”

His cousins have been murdered in Syria. He and his brothers tried 2 years ago to sponsor Syrian family members hoping to bring them to Canada.

“We worked so hard, all the brothers, we all signed, we showed our taxes we send it and it was refused.”

“But the government has wrapped these sponsorships in so much paperwork and so much red tape that it’s almost impossible.” said Immigration and Refugee Lawyer Robert Young.

Young says Canada accepts about 15 000 refugees a year,  privately and government sponsored.

“With that many people applying the delays can be up to 6 years.  Some of the people who are subject to these sponsorships, their problems happened maybe 6 years ago,  maybe they are refugees from wars that are over.”

But by the time the conflict is over it may be too late for millions of Syrians.

“What is happening in Syria is a massacre.  It is a bland massacre what’s happening in Syria.  There’s a million murders until today.”

Samir was critical of Canada for not doing more to help refugees while Germany is sending ships to refugee camps in Turkey to bring them to safety in Germany.