Red Cross director applauds fire efforts, discusses refugee crisis

In total, they assisted over 10,000 people, 5,000 in Prince Albert alone. In total, those involved put in a total of over 30,000 hours of work.

In Prince Albert, almost 100 people stepped up to volunteer. Across the province, there were over 450.

“We didn’t have to ask. People showed up came out and said, ‘What can we do?’” said MacLean. “We would never be able to do it without them.”

“For this community, I guess in a way I’m surprised, but I’m also not because I have had the opportunity to be here and see how people react and they continue to just step up and do what they need to do, so it’s nice.”

With attention turning to the over 4 million Syrian refugees, MacLean compares the fire situation to that of the immigrants.

She travelled to Germany in the end of September, working at a transition camp for refugees on their way to settle in Europe. Each day, they saw about 1,500 new people come through. In total, one million people had travelled on rafts to the camp by the time MacLean arrived.

Each refugee was given food and checked by a doctor before they moved on. Just to leave the camp, set up on a military base, was 10 km trek.

According to MacLean, they spoke a surprising amount of English, so she was able to communicate easily.

She said they were genuinely nice and were very thankful for the services the Red Cross was providing.

“Even though they had travelled hundreds of kilometres and through really horrific conditions, they were still OK. Little children were still playing. It’s really heartwarming,” she said.

After the city stepped up to help northern evacuees, MacLean encourages people to do the same this time around.

“You were so generous this summer, please think about doing the same kind of thing,” she said.

Although the YWCA is heading the project locally, MacLean attended a resettlement meeting and said she was happy to hear many people saying they want to help.

“I know there’s been a lot of negativity … but there are a lot of people who are very supportive of bringing the refugees to this community,” said MacLean. “People want to see refugees here and want to see new faces in this community.

“We recognize there’s going to be a significant impact, you don’t come from a war-torn country without some significant traumatic experiences and impact, but we also know that people just want to live and be safe and have a place to lay their head.”

With many people taking to social media to voice their opinions on the issue, some are saying those seeking shelter locally should be prioritized like Prince Albert’s homeless population.

“Really, we don’t spend a lot of time on questioning we need to help domestic first or local first versus from around the world. It’s ‘Where is the need at this time?’ And that’s how you have to approach disasters,” said MacLean. “It’s not about saying which is right or which is wrong and who we should help and who we shouldn’t help.

“The way we respond is, ‘Is there a need? Is there vulnerability? Then how can we step up and how can we support it?’”

Awarding significant contributors

At the end of the luncheon, three volunteers were recognized for their work with the organization.

Russell Barton was given the youth service award and three year milestone, JoAnne Thalheimer was given a volunteer award and a three year milestone award and Lyle Karasiuk was also awarded for his major contributions to the Red Cross over several years.

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha

by Alex Soloducha

Red Cross director applauds fire efforts, discusses refugee crisis

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