Welcome to Altona – population 4500 plus 45 new refugees

DNTO, Saturday January 9, 2016 Episode

Altona, refugees
The Daas family with new friends Doaa Abukhousa (in bright blue headscarf) and Emily Dyck (in green parka). (Kaj Hasselriis/DNTO)

In Canada, the big cities get most of the credit for being multicultural. But the face of small town Canada is changing, too. This week, DNTO takes you to tiny Altona, in southern Manitoba, where the population just jumped by one percent thanks to the arrival of five new Syrian families. It’s a mini-boom that’s changing the town in ways it never expected – and they went along for the ride…

Listen to the full episode.
Stories from this episode

Newcomers

Meet the people who are changing the face of Altona

In the past ten years, two dozen refugee families have moved to tiny Altona, Manitoba, population 4500. Check out our photo gallery of some of the newcomers – and the people who welcomed them.

 

Syrian boy

Welcome, Daas family!

Check out photos featuring the arrival of Syria’s Daas family to Manitoba.

 

 

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A small-town photographer uses his art to support Syrian refugees

Jay Siemens is a 23-year-old photographer from Altona, Manitoba, which will soon be home to dozens of Syrian refugees.