Levon Afeyan and Syrian Refugees

Canada: Nazarian is one of 12 Syrian refugees among 80 employees and Afeyan intends to hire more as Canada opens its borders to thousands of people fleeing the Assad regime and the Islamic State, according to The Chronicle Herald. One of the most difficult things for the Syrian refugees Afeyan employs is to accept that their move to Canada is likely a permanent one. 'They haven't grasped that yet," he says. "It takes time for a man to accept the fact that, well, this is it. Nazarian, who been in Canada for about a year, has been working for six months at a Montreal plywood factory owned by Levon Afeyan, who fled Lebanon civil war with his parents and two brothers in 1975. "I like working here very well," Nazarian says in English before finishing his answer — "to take care of my family" — in Armenian. I've lost ." Afeyan is the boss, but he also a pseudo social worker, overseeing a factory where immigrants from conflict zones around the world earn money for their families but also learn life skills and are paid to take French lessons. The employees press plywood and glue veneers to create colourful combinations. His business, Seatply Products Inc., makes curved plywood used in chairs throughout North America. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.