A refugee family from Syria is among the first to be resettled in Australia under a new pilot program:
Shadi Al Daoud with his wife, Ramia, and their two children. George is 10 years old and Elinor is seven years old.For six long years, Al Daoud family have been searching for a country that would take them in as refugees.
His wife, Ramia Al Romhain said she felt elated but also nervous about the unfamiliar - settling into a place she only ever dreamed about.Refugee families who will be resettled under the new pilot program and the Australian community members who will be helping and supporting them to feel at home."I've been wanting to come for a long time - and we have tried more than once but then the situation got really bad, and we made a final decision to leave.
"Even after we went to Iraq when it was New Years and we heard fireworks. The kids were really scared - and they thought they were bombs." "We've already made contact with a lot of local real estate agents to find long-term accommodation. And from there, later on [we will help with] employment opportunities."The family is among millions who've been forced to flee due to the conflict in Syria, which began as peaceful street protests in 2011 against the backdrop of the Arab Spring and evolved into an ongoing civil war that has now left half a million people dead.