Steven Ivascu and Steven Wesley

mandatory military service: The teenage Romanian refugees had fled their homeland to avoid mandatory military service where they would have been persecuted for being Christians, according to The Waterloo Record. Ivascu older brother, Steven Ivascu, had been conscripted a few years earlier and subjected to severe beatings, a brutal process where a targeted soldier would have a blanket tossed over his head as other soldiers attacked. "Military service was rough for everybody," said Simon who, along with Steven and Wesley, formed The Freedom Singers vocal group after finding their way to Kelowna, B.C., where they have lived since the late 1990s. They had run out of food and water and, more importantly, the oxygen in the airtight container was nearly depleted. This weekend, the recording artists perform in Waterloo and Guelph, where they will also tell their remarkable story of survival. "I believe I've been blessed for a reason, placed in this position so I can help others," said Simon. The also have five recordings, music reflecting their early lives growing up in a Romanian village. "We would sing, mostly at home," said Simon. "We would sing hymns and I started to get interested in the message of the songs. The Ivascu brothers and Wesley gained national attention on the "Dragons' Den" television show where they asked for help finding a publisher for their book "The Price of Freedom: A story of courage and faith in the face of danger." As they told their story, there was a long moment of silence as the Dragons listened and were moved to tears. "The Dragons hooked us up with a publisher, but they told us to take out the God references," said Simon. "I can't compromise." Simon and Wesley had written the book with the help of a professional writer and so far have sold close to 50,000 copies, even without a major publisher behind them, according to Simon. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.