While all eyes are on the humanitarian crisis playing out in Ukraine, and efforts are underway to bring Ukrainian refugees to Whistler, the resort is still doing its part to house refugees from other parts of the world as well.
On March 4, Afghanistan native Shah Hussaini Ghulami landed at Vancouver International Airport en route to Whistler, marking the first time in eight years he has a place he can properly call home.
“I still can't believe that I’m here in Canada,” said Ghulami. “I’m free now. I can do anything here in Canada. It makes me so happy. It’s a big change for me, especially in Whistler.”
Ghulami was just 16 years old when he left Afghanistan in 2014. He is from the country’s Ghazni region, which saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and the NATO-backed government during the Taliban's insurgency campaign last year.
Once landing in Canada, Ghulami spent four days getting adjusted to his new life before he started working for the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, where he has been staying in staff accommodations.
“Staff housing is so nice, it's so good. Everything is fully furnished. Everything is nice,” he said. “And because you're free, you can decide to move to another city or province where you can find another house because you can work right now.”
Ghulami’s journey to Canada was a long one. He was one of the thousands of people that moved to Indonesia from war-torn Afghanistan with hopes of making it to Australia or somewhere in the West.
When he arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ghulami didn’t know the language, employment opportunities were limited, and daily life was a struggle. Ghulami was stuck in limbo for nearly a decade as one of the more than 13,000 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-registered migrants in Indonesia, 57 per cent of whom are from Afghanistan.
Being a refugee and asylum seeker is a complicated topic in Indonesia, where, until a change in policy in 2018, migrants would regularly be put in detention centres on arrival and could spend months or even years awaiting their fate.
Ghulami was spared being put into a detention centre, but still found that he faced discrimination while in Indonesia.
“If we are in Indonesia, we are not allowed to go to school. We are not allowed to work, to travel,” he said.
“We are not allowed to buy a SIM card. We are not allowed to travel from one city to another city to buy a SIM card.”
Ghulami thought he might be stuck in Indonesia for decades, until a stroke of luck put him in contact with former Whistlerite Laurie Cooper, a refugee advocate who has helped settle more than a dozen people from across the world in Canada.
Through a process that started in 2019, Ghulami finally arrived in Canada in March. So far, he has taken well to the Sea to Sky, with other refugees, including Murhaf Ghaibour, Canada’s first Syrian refugee ski instructor, showing him the region.
“They're really, really nice, those who are from Syria and Afghanistan,” Ghulami said.
“They’re amazing. You know, we are a kind of family. I know we are from different countries, but we are like a family, like brothers.”
Ghulami hopes to one day see his family again, and possibly bring them to Canada, but doesn’t have much hope with the Taliban still in power in his home country.
“I'm looking for a way to bring them here, but unfortunately, since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the people cannot get their passports. With the previous government there was an opportunity to see them, or maybe they could come see me here, but right now, I think there's no chance for me to see them.”
If people want to help refugees settle in the Sea to Sky region, they are encouraged to join the Whistler Pemberton Refugee Response group on Facebook or make donations to refugee sponsorship organizations.
