[Published: Sunday May 07 2017]
Syrian refugees name baby Justin Trudeau
Calgary, Canada 7 May (ANA) - When Muhammad and Afraa Bilan arrived in Canada in February last year, they were starting a new life in a completely new country. Originally from Damascus in Syria, they, daughter Naya and son Nael arrived as refugees in Montreal in the depths of winter. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wasn't there to greet them at the airport, as he did with other Syrian refugees. But the couple felt they had to give their thanks to him in some way - so have named their newborn son after him. Justin Trudeau Adam Bilan was born on Thursday in his parents' new city of Calgary. (His first name is Justin Trudeau, not Justin, by the way.) In Damascus, Muhammad, now 29, worked as a barber. But he had once been targeted by the Syrian army and detained. After he was freed, his family learned the authorities were looking for him again, and that he could face further detention - a fate from which many have not emerged. Their chance to leave came when they found out Canada was starting to take in Syrian refugees after Mr Trudeau took office. Five years into Syria's war, they jumped at the chance.(ANA)
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