Reporter’s note
Before pursuing journalism, I worked with refugee youth in Ottawa.
My first job was teaching English to newly-arrived refugees, but I didn’t fully consider what my students had been through until early 2016, at the height of the Syrian resettlement effort. I experienced the influx from within a tiny, crowded classroom in a temporary housing facility. If we felt unprepared, it was nothing compared to the journey our students had just endured. This story is for them.
While working on this project, I learned a great deal about data science and forms of technology I never imagined I would write about.
I would like to thank each of my sources for inviting me into their homes, patiently accepting my Skype calls and sharing their work and their stories. Thank you especially to Waseem Soufi and Rasha Haj Ali for the hours they selflessly spent walking me through their sponsorship and resettlement experience.
This project was thoughtfully shaped by my supervisor, Susan Harada, whose guidance has been invaluable. I am also grateful for the support I received from Carleton University.
I also dedicate this project to my fellow Master of Journalism classmates: your kindness has taught me that the person behind the journalist is just as important, too.