Lu Emanuel and Hay Doun

Emanuel: The Apkarians will be the first Syrian refugees in Sutton, Emanuel said, according to The Chronicle Herald. And while Hay Doun, a Montreal-based Armenian community group, is backing the application, the family is effectively being sponsored by the entire town. "People in the community are by and large very happy and excited we are doing this," Emanuel said. A bank account has been opened on their behalf, a home is being prepared and an organic farmer has already promised them free, fresh fruits and vegetables for one year. "People have been asking me, 'When are they coming ' They are all excited," said Lu Emanuel, the Sutton resident who started the project to have the town sponsor a Syrian refugee family. Emanuel first contacted Rafi Allaouirdian, an Armenian shoemaker from Lebanon who been living in Sutton for several years. "My ex-wife is a Syrian-Armenian," said Allaouirdian. "We know a lot of people who are refugees and living all over the world. And that when the Apkarians came into the picture." The couple and their three children, aged between 15 and 20, are in Lebanon waiting for the Canadian government to give them a medical examination. I said maybe I could find a family to sponsor. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.