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Syrian grandfather arrives in Toronto; in Sudbury on Monday

A Syrian refugee family who have been waiting more than three weeks to be reunited with their grandfather will finally get their wish Monday.
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A Syrian refugee family who have been waiting more than three weeks to be reunited with their grandfather will finally get their wish Monday. File photo.
A Syrian refugee family who have been waiting more than three weeks to be reunited with their grandfather will finally get their wish Monday.

The Quarquoz family was forced to leave him behind in Lebanon when they left for a new life in Canada, arriving in Sudbury New Year's Eve. A problem with travel documents, then some health concerns delayed the trip of the 80-year-old family patriarch.

But in an email this weekend, Nilgiri Pearson, co-ordinator of Lifeline Sudbury, said the grandfather landed in Toronto late Saturday evening and he will arrive in Sudbury on Monday morning.

“(He) has been medically cleared to fly and is scheduled to arrive in Canada on Saturday, and in Sudbury on Sunday,” Pearson said. “Given our experience of the last few weeks this is not a guarantee, but it is encouraging.”

When the Quarquoz family arrived in Sudbury, they expressed a mix of happiness to be here and sadness they had to leave their grandfather behind. The father told reporters it was the family's most pressing concern.

"The first thing he wants is his dad to come here," said Abdul Hak Dabliz, Imam of the Sudbury Mosque, who acted as the translator for the family first's media interview.

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