28 Rural Living A refugee story THE CHANGING FACE OF RURAL CANADA Mary Feldskov THE TOWN OF ANTIGONISH, NOVA SCOTIA, HAS A HISTORY THAT IS NOT UNLIKE THAT OF OTHER SMALL TOWNS across Canada. With archaeological evidence of Mi’kmaq people dating back more than 9,000 years, the earliest European settlers included Acadians and the French, with British loyalists putting down roots following the American Revolution. Waves of Scottish, English, and Irish settlers followed over the next century, with Dutch immigrants making the northeastern part of Nova Scotia home following the Second World War — due, in part, to the agricultural land that surrounds the town. The small town of 5,000, known as the home of Sir Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuously running Highland Games outside of Scotland, is now known as the home of ‘Peace by Chocolate,’ a company headed by Tareq Hadhad, whose family arrived as Syrian refugees in 2016. How did a Syrian family — who lost everything in the Syrian war and spent years in a Lebanese refugee settlement before coming to Canada — grow a small business from their kitchen to become internationally acclaimed, award-winning chocolatiers and a successful business in rural Canada? Attendees at Grain Farmers of Ontario’s annual March Classic, held in London, Ontario, in March 2024, got the opportunity to hear first-hand from Hadhad, who shared the family’s captivating and inspiring story. IT ALL BEGAN IN SYRIA The Hadhads owned a large and successful chocolate business in Damascus, and for over 30 years, the business that Tareq’s father, Essam, started shipped delicacies across the Middle East and Europe. The war in Syria changed the trajectory of the family’s life; after bombs destroyed their homes and the chocolate factory in 2012, the family, like millions of other Syrians, became refugees. “My entire family was scattered… in 23 countries around the world,” says Hadhad, who recalls 60 members of his family once living under the same roof. Hadhad and his immediate family ended up in Lebanon, where they would live for the next three years while he tried to find a country to emigrate to. Formerly a medical student, Hadhad was working as a volunteer for the United Nations. Thanks to a chance meeting with a cab driver who had lived in Montreal, Hadhad learned about the opportunity to go to Canada, and their application was accepted. “We applied to 15 countries,” says Hadhad. “Imagine, 15 countries, and no other country around the planet opened their doors for me and my family.” ARRIVING IN ANTIGONISH Hadhad arrived in Canada in 2015; his family followed a year later. “When I landed, there was a group of Canadians waiting for me,” says Hadhad. “This was the community of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. A town of 5,000 people… they came together, and they wanted to bring a refugee family to Canada.” The town, Hadhad says, welcomed the family with open arms. “Being welcomed in this way, it made me feel more confident to launch my life here in Canada with my family.” When they first sold their chocolate at a local farmers’ market, Hadhad says he was surprised to see a line of more than 200
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