Island Diversity

This weekend I went 'up Island' with some of my work colleagues.

We met with our counterparts at North Island College and then enjoyed the scenery and recreation the north island as to offer.

In less than a three hour drive from Victoria to Courtney the mountains become much taller and are snow capped.

You can golf in the morning...

  and ski in the afternoon...

 or make snow people or snowshoe like we did!

 Returned home to Heather, Rhodendrons, Daffodils and Camelia in bloom.

 The first bloom of our backyard Camelia - spectacular!

Facts on Syrian Refugees

“Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.

Since 2011, approximately 50% of the pre-war population have been killed or forced to flee their homes.

Over 4.2 million Syrians have registered as refugees, most of whom are women and children.

The Government of Canada’s commitment to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees represents

0.006% of Syrians currently registered as refugees.

Refugees and others seeking protection in Canada are not threats to security – they are seeking security and protection from threats to their own lives.  It is much more difficult to enter Canada as a refugee than as a visitor, because refugees are required to undergo security checks by the CSIS and the RCMP, fingerprinting, and interviews.

Syrian refugees destined to Canada have been referred by the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees. They are among the most vulnerable cases – families with children, single mothers, and persecuted minorities who are in desperate situations and urgent need of protection.

Privately Sponsored Refugees (like the family we are supporting) are not entitled to government assistance, including provincial assistance, during the period of their sponsorship (usually 1 year upon arriving to Canada). Income support must be provided by their sponsors for a minimum of 1 year

Up to now, all refugees have been expected to repay the Canadian government for

their transportation to Canada, as well as the cost of their medical examination before arriving. Interest is charged on this loan at a rate set by the Department of Finance each year. Loans can be $10,000 or more, depending on the size of the family and age of the children.  Loan repayments begin within the family’s first year in Canada.  In spite of the fact that this has presented an enormous burden to newcomer refugees, according to the Government of Canada, 91% of current refugees have repaid their loans in full,

the highest repayment of all government loans.

Our group is affiliated with an Immigrant serving agency which has been in existence for over 40 years, working in and with communities to settle and integrate immigrants and refugees. These organizations have been meeting with government agencies, school boards, health authorities, etc., to develop a coordinated plan to ensure all supports are in place.”

Source: The Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria 

Winter Blooms in Victoria

Snowdrops start blooming in mid-January

Crocus

Crocus

Heather in my garden 

Helebore or Winter Rose in my gardem 

Early Flowering Plum

Holly berries are out all winter

The mouth of the shark

I am involved with a group of people who are raising funds and making arrangements to bring a Syrian family, currently living in a Turkish Refugee Camp, to Victora,

When I tell friends and family what I am doing, some people think its a great idea.
Other's think its a bad idea.  Other's ask "Why?"

I hope this poem, written by a young woman who fled her home in an African country for Britain, helps you understand why.

Home
by Warsan Shire

no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark.
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city
running as well.
your neighbours running faster
than you, the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind
the old tin factory is
holding a gun bigger than his body,

you only leave home
when home won't let you stay.
no one would leave home unless home
chased you, fire under feet,
hot blood in your belly.
doing, and so when you did -
you carried the anthem under your breath,
waiting until the airport toilet
to tear up the passport and swallow,
each mouthful of paper making it clear that
you would not be going back.

you have to understand,
no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land.
who would choose to spend days
and nights in the stomach of a truck
unless the miles travelled
meant something more than journey.

no one would choose to crawl under fences,
be beaten until your shadow leaves you,
raped, then drowned, forced to the bottom of
the boat because you are darker, be sold,
starved, shot at the border like a sick animal,
be pitied, lose your name, lose your family,
make a refugee camp a home for a year or two or ten,
stripped and searched, find prison everywhere
and if you survive
and you are greeted on the other side
with
go home blacks, refugees
dirty immigrants, asylum seekers
sucking our country dry of milk,
dark, with their hands out
smell strange, savage -
look what they've done to their own countries,
what will they do to ours?

the dirty looks in the street
softer than a limb torn off,
the indignity of everyday life
more tender than fourteen men who
look like your father, between
your legs, insults easier to swallow
than rubble, than your child's body
in pieces - for now, forget about pride
your survival is more important.

i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home tells you to
leave what you could not behind,

even if it was human.
no one leaves home until home
is a damp voice in your ear saying
leave, run now, i don't know what
i've become.

More winter sights

My quest to find bird photos took me to new places this weekend.  I know it sounds cliché but I really let the car take me where it wants to go sometimes.

I had intended to go to a beach we often walk but I turned the wrong way. So, I (or the car) continued to the end of the road at a secluded spot on the water - Gonzales Beach. 

 I wasn’t happy with the selection of birds so I drove up the hill to Walbran Park. It offers a spectacular 180 degree view of Victoria looking south and west.  I walked around the park and could hear tweets and songs of small birds but couldn’t see any.  Then I spotted…

I took several photos of this beautiful Bald Eagle. People walked around the park, came and went, but I was the only person who spotted this majestic creature. Of course s/he saw everyone.

Sea birds

Keith and I walked along the coast on a blustery afternoon in search of sea birds for me to shoot - well not literally... with my camera!  There wasn't a great selection as it was windy and wet.  Here's what I found:

Glaucus-winged Gulls - the young ones are brown 

Cute little Black Turnstones scurried across the rocks and driftwood.

Hummingbirds in Winter

Just before Christmas my camera stopped working.
I checked out the Boxing Day sales and decided to purchase a better camera with more features.

In order to learn how to use it and improve my skills I  joined a photography group.

The group sometimes gets together to take photos.  In between our meetings we are encouraged to go out and take pictures in a certain style or of a certain subject.  We post a couple of photos on-line and give each other feedback on our shots.

This weekend the subject was winter birds.

Here are some samples of my study of the Anna's Hummingbird that winters in Victoria.  This photo is of the little bird high up in a tree.

The remaining photos were taken through our kitchen window where a feeder is attached on the outside.

The birds are timid and aware of our presence. I have to skulk around to get a shot.  Yet this female bird held the pose for a long time, perhaps out of fear or vanity?

Anna's are one of the many Hummingbirds where the male has a beautiful jeweled throat and head.

My favourite shot, the female ready to fly away!