Jodi Kantor and Catrin Einhorn / Refugees Welcome

Late last year, something intriguing was happening: thousands of Canadian citizens were essentially adopting Syrian refugees. The volunteers were book club members, hockey moms, poker buddies and grandmothers, many with little connection to the Middle East. Few of the Syrians spoke English; some had barely heard of Canada. Many had no idea that eager sponsors planned to spend a year helping them resettle. Much of the rest of the world was treating refugees with suspicion or hostility. So how was Canada’s national movement to help them going to work out? New York Times writers Jodi Kantor (link is external) and Catrin Einhorn (link is external) spent the past year trying to find answers.

In their first few months of reporting, they documented the awkward interactions and growing bonds between the Canadians and the Syrians. They watched the refugees and their sponsors face wrenching moral questions about relatives half a world away. They saw how the Canadian help was changing the Syrian families — their roles, their children’s desires and expectations, even their marriages. They are working on the final chapter of their project.

Please join us on April 25 when Jodi Kantor and Catrin Einhorn share their experiences of researching and reporting this unusal story.

Read about the speakers and more about their project here.