When Arta Rexhepi arrived in Canada from Kosovo with her family nearly 14 years ago, she was greeted and comforted by Canadian Red Cross volunteers. She was among a group of 5,000 refugees fleeing conflict who arrived in Nova Scotia and Ontario from camps in Macedonia. The Red Cross was asked to help provide services for the refugees.
Arta recently stopped by the Red Cross office in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to share and compare notes from that experience with Ismael Aquino, a staff member who was involved in coordinating the Canadian Red Cross operation to welcome the refugees in Nova Scotia. It was a reunion of sorts although the two of them cannot be sure they indeed met back in 1999.
Arta and Ismael reminisce about the arrival of Kosovar refugees in Nova Scotia in 1999.
She remembers in great detail her arrival and first month in Canada. Some of her fondest memories include receiving a Zeddy bear and special treats in a paper bag. She recalls the games and activities organized by Red Cross volunteers to help the refugees feel at ease and settle in their new country and begin to recover from the trauma of war.
Meanwhile, Ismael remembers the challenges of hosting such a large number of people, most of whom didn’t speak English, with little advance notice. Red Cross volunteers, as they are accustomed to doing in disasters, stepped up to help out Kosovars who left behind family members, their home and belongings, without knowing if they would ever be back in Kosovo. Arta’s family lost cherished art work and a musical instrument when their house was burned down in the war.
Today, Arta has a family of her own and is studying broadcast journalism. Her parents and siblings are mostly still in Nova Scotia. Her father Zeqirja Rexhepi, a well-known artist, has left his mark across the province, with murals and other pieces depicting the Canadian east coast.
She is very grateful for what Canada and specifically Red Cross have done to help her and other Kosovar refugees feel at home. “I want to say a big thank you to all Red Cross volunteers who took time out of their daily life to bring a little cheer into ours.”
Thanks, Arta, for sharing your story and reconnecting with the Red Cross.
