Others Right: Klassen and Family Origins

others right: Many of the refugees were sponsored by local church groups, according to CBC. Altona Mayor Melvin Klassen said the town has an intimate historical connection to immigration and the desire to start a new life abroad. More than 45 families from war-torn Syria have settled in the town since November 2015. Food was prepared together by newcomers and long-time residents of Altona. For many in the community, making newcomers feel at home is about acknowledging their own family origins on the Prairies, and extending the same openness their families received decades ago to the new wave of refugees and immigrants, Klassen said. "They're saying 'It payback time,'" Klassen said. "We need to do that for others right now." Khaldeye Daas and Abdo Haman both settled in Altona in the past year. Many in Altona are descendants of Russian and German Mennonite families that moved to Manitoba between the 1870s and 1920s, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.