Hamilton restaurateur returns to Syria after 12 years for bittersweet reunion with family, former staff
She was the first person the 42-year-old Hamilton restaurateur went to see after his July 11 return to Syria, where he was born and raised. He has a restaurant in the Ontario city called Tomah: A Taste of Syria and used to run a cheese factory in his hometown of Al-Nashabiyah.
"She was very happy," he said 12 days after his arrival.
Bashar al-Assad was ousted as Syria's president and his government overthrown late last year after a rapid offensive by armed factions. At the time, then prime minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media: " The fall of Assad's dictatorship ends decades of brutal oppression."
Tomeh said he felt "very happy" when he heard the news and gave away free baklava in December following Assad's ouster.
"Now I think my country is on the right path to be safe [again] and friendly with the world," he said.
Tomeh said he hopes to stay in his hometown for a few more weeks. The trip has been full of bittersweet moments of reunions and happiness, but also sadness and loss.
"I didn't find my friend and some people from my family because I lost people," said Tomeh, who left his hometown in 2013.
"But … I am happy because I saw my family, I saw … so many friends."
Tomeh's restaurant is at 242 King St. W. in downtown Hamilton, the Ontario city's he's called home since immigrating to Canada in 2018.
Tomeh said he had worked in the cheese-making industry in Syria most of his life. His factory, which he owned for 15 years before leaving, had been destroyed along with the city's commercial area.
Among the rubble, however, what have remained standing are his old pomegranate and olive trees — in which he's found symbolism and motivation as they, "Don't die, bloom again."
Syria still facing struggles
Over two million Syrians — about 600,000 from neighbouring nations and 1.5 million who were displaced within Syria — have returned home since December, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees.
Tomeh is among those who left Syria in 2013 due to ongoing conflict. According to the 2021 census, over 97,000 people in Canada list Syria as their birthplace. Between November 2014 and December 2015, 44,620 Syrian refugees arrived in Canada, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Tomeh remains hopeful about Syria's future, but wants to bring awareness to the enduring issues.
"Life is very, very hard [here]. No electricity, no gas, no water."
Last week, for instance, parts of Syria's south and Damascus were hit by Israeli airstrikes in the worst fighting since Assad's fall, as Israel heightened its campaign to support the Druze minority people, claiming it's working to keep southern Syria demilitarized. Syria's new government has also been grappling with clashes between militias linked to the Arab minority group and local Bedouin fighters.
Some experts argue Israel's involvement is intended to challenge the new state's authority and maintain its own ability to exert influence over Syria.
Many Syrians return to a country largely destroyed
Basit Iqbal, an associate professor in McMaster University's department of anthropology, spoke to CBC Hamilton about the uncertainty Syrians returning to the country still face.
"Many have houses that have been destroyed, or bombed or whatnot, and if they don't have the funds to rebuild, because there's an economic crisis, and I think it's like 80 per cent of the country is under the poverty line," said Iqbal.
His upcoming book, The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution, is based on fieldwork around Syria and looks at people's different relationships with Islam during times of war.
Iqbal said he was doing research for the book, near the southern Syrian border in Jordan, and spoke to one man with whom he still communicates.
"He spoke constantly about just his dream to go back ... that he couldn't return, even though he was so close by," said Iqbal.
"His whole life was shaped by this proximity to the border that he couldn't cross."
Iqbal recalled seeing bombing taking place in Syria from the border. His friend was unable to do anything for his family and friends just 20 minutes away. Now, that friend sends Iqbal a message any time he crosses the border, something that's not taken for granted.
Rebuilding his hometown
Iqbal said he saw many videos of individuals like Tomeh whose return to loved ones "immediately became a time of new mourning."
"What does it mean to go back to your home, where even if your home is still standing, it's right next to a world that's been turned to rubble?"
Tomeh said he wants to help, even if it's in a small way.
His old cheese factory is already being rebuilt, he said.
"I want to open an opportunity for the people, for my family," he said, adding he has reconnected with former employees there who are looking for work.
Tomeh wants to help contribute to the economy and the rebuilding of his hometown, and hopes to get visits from his Canadian friends.
"I hope they meet the people there. Syrian people are very kind."
Tomeh hopes to stay in his hometown for now but has no plans to move there permanently.
He's deeply grateful to the Hamilton community he loves and appreciates for supporting him through highs and lows.
"Sometimes my business is very slow. I don't make good money sometimes, but I'm very happy with people, with my community. You know why? Because [they are] kind people," said Tomeh.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
8 hours ago
- National Post
'They were shot in the head': Canadian Druze ask Ottawa to intervene
Members of the Druze diaspora in Canada are facing anguish and uncertainty as they await word from family and friends in Syria amid reports of massacres and kidnappings. The largely Druze town of Suwayda was shaken in mid-July by clashes between Druze and armed Bedouin. Reuters reports execution-style killings of unarmed Druze civilians and home-to-home massacres, with about a thousand believed killed in the bloodshed. A medical examiner said he had seen about 500 bodies, including a decapitation, close-range gunshots, and teenage girls with throats slit. The government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who overthrew the Assad regime last December, has denied any involvement in the civilian killings. Canadian Druze held a news conference on July 25 outside Toronto City Hall to call the public's attention to the atrocities and to call on the Canadian government to intervene. Among them: Rahaf Alakbani, 34, who arrived from Suwayda with her husband, Esmaeel Aboufakher, in February 2016, following the escalation of violence and persecution in Syria. Article content Article content Article content She still has family members in Suwayda, including her parents and siblings. Her two nephews – Salah, 13 and Yusuf, 15 – and brother-in-law Samir, were killed, and her friend's brother is still missing. With electricity and internet cut, she's unable to determine their safety or whereabouts. Alakbani has worked with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, supporting refugees and survivors of trauma as they adapt to life in Canada. She spoke to Dave Gordon for National Post. What was it like for you when the Assad regime fell? We always dreamed the regime would be done, and it was so amazing, and we felt optimistic for a new future. We wanted to rebuild Syria. My husband and I work in the humanitarian field, and social work, and we had lots of ideas to build our countries. But the new regime ruined all these dreams. When you heard of the atrocities this month, what went through your mind? I still cannot believe it. I could barely sleep. I could barely talk. My parents are still there, my husband's family with eight sisters. We're worried about them. Article content Article content What kind of contact have you had with friends and family in Syria? Before the internet cut off, I was talking to them through WhatsApp. But they cut the internet and the landlines and electricity. I don't know whether they are still alive. How did you find out about what happened to your brother-in-law and his boys? When there was internet. My sister-in-law has three boys, one of them, he lives in Jordan. He's studying there. And so he sent us on the WhatsApp group that his brothers and his dad were killed. They were shot in the back and the head. My sister-in-law, my husband's sister Hanna, had a camera in the home, and had everything documented, but she doesn't know how to release this, so we're trying to help her to have this as evidence. Tell me about Salah and Yusuf, your nephews. I remember when we went to Syria (six years ago), they were both learning instruments. We sat together, we started singing, playing music. They're very talented. They were very beautiful spirits. They were full of life, and very funny. So they have nothing to do with any politics, any war. What do you remember about Samir? He used to have a detergent factory and always liked to help people. My mom-in-law always said when sometimes people came to buy some detergent, and he knew that they are poor, he didn't take money from them. He was very funny, wise. What are your connections in Syria hearing and seeing? My sister-in-law lives in the city centre; all of the militias were attacking the neighborhood, and was very horrible situation for them. It was tragedy. They heard gunfire, rockets and the fighters were shouting, 'Allahu Akbar,' and they were just running. And my sister-in-law saw all this from her door, and saw a civilian knifed in the head. I have a friend who told me her entire town was gone.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Anti-hate coalition denounces presence of white nationalist 'active clubs' in Hamilton, calls for action
Social Sharing Several organizations in Hamilton are denouncing white nationalist "active clubs," whose members were found by a recent investigative report by CBC News to be preparing for a "race war" in area gyms and parks. The Hamilton Anti Hate Coalition, a group formerly known as No Hate in the Hammer, said it is also calling on municipal authorities and neighbours to "act immediately" in light of the investigation's findings. Coalition members have also issued their own statements since the investigation's initial report was published on July 18. Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI), Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC), and Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) have expressed their condemnation and are calling for urgent action to root out hate. HIPC said it's "deeply alarmed" by the report from the CBC's visual investigation unit. "These groups are not benign social organizations. They are part of a transnational movement grounded in fascist ideology, white supremacy, misogyny, and violent extremism," HIPC said in a statement. "HIPC unequivocally condemns the presence of these hate-fuelled organizations in our city," the statement reads. "Their activities — whether covert or public — pose a serious threat to the safety of all Hamiltonians and are especially harmful to newcomers and longstanding racialized communities who already experience heightened risk of discrimination and violence." According to HIPC anti-racism committee chair Kim Martin, newcomers and racialized communities face disproportionate barriers and discrimination. "The organized presence of hate groups training in our public spaces sends a chilling message," Martin said. "This cannot be normalized. We must meet it with urgency, solidarity, and zero tolerance for hate in all its forms." Fascist fight clubs are training for a 'race war' in parks and gyms. CBC tracked them A CBC visual investigation, in collaboration with The Fifth Estate, recently identified local spaces where white nationalists are getting together to train, including in Myrtle and Gage Parks. Known within white nationalist communities as "active clubs," these training sessions are also part of the groups' recruitment and propaganda. Although the clubs portray themselves as promoting community, fitness and Canada's European heritage, some experts told CBC News they're a growing extremist threat. Organization launches survey to hear from residents The report prompted HCCI — a community-based organization dedicated to making Hamilton an inclusive city — to get public input on combating hate. HCCI has launched a survey saying it wants to hear from people about what is needed and what expertise already exists to determine "how best to support impacted communities." "Many of you have likely seen the disturbing reports published by CBC and CBC Hamilton about so-called 'active-clubs' operating in Hamilton gyms and local public spaces," HCCI wrote in an email on July 23. "The escalation of these activities in the current context is disturbing and we know that reading and seeing this happen so close to home is very concerning," HCCI said. "We also know that it triggers many historical memories and feelings amongst communities for whom these threats are unfortunately not new." HCCI has put out a three-question survey to "see if there are any specific needs we could help respond to and figure out if we can pool some resources to add to and amplify the knowledge and skills that we know already exist in our communities." HCCI told CBC Hamilton residents interested in filling out the survey can contact HCCI directly with their email address and name and they will send the link. WATCH | CBC tracks 'active clubs' to Hamilton area: Exposing fascist fight clubs training for 'race war' in Canada 16 days ago CBC News' visual investigations team tracks down where two Ontario-based white nationalist groups recruit and train young men to fight. They're called 'active clubs' and they're on the rise around the world, including in Canada, where experts say they're one of the fastest-growing extremist threats. We expose them to the owners of MMA and boxing clubs that they've infiltrated. The anti-hate coalition is also encouraging residents to "report suspicious activity" such as groups training in parks under "questionable circumstances." For example, they could be wearing masks, appear heavily militarized and be using white supremacy slogans. There are various means to report such activity, the group said, including through the Hamilton police and a website launched in 2023 for people in the area to report incidents of hate. It is separate from police. Police say no criminal offences reported related to groups Hamilton Police Service said it is aware of the groups mentioned in the CBC report and "continue to monitor their activities," however "there have been no criminal offences reported to Hamilton police related to these clubs," it said. Police also said "a club training in a facility is not a criminal offence. It is up to the individual business owner to act accordingly. Each business owner has the right to choose how they respond." They advised anyone who sees members of an active club working out in a park to report it through police's non-emergency number or online. On July 24, Hamilton police released their 2024 hate crime statistics, which show that 297 hate- or bias-related crimes and incidents were reported to police over the 12-month period, a 35 per cent increase from the previous year. Hamilton police reported 106 hate crimes — criminal offences where hate or bias is a clear motivating factor — and 191 hate incidents, which include actions with hateful overtones but that don't meet the legal threshold for a crime. Hate crimes were most often in the form of graffiti, but also included arson, assault, criminal harassment, theft and uttering threats, among others, police said. Black, Jewish and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities were the most frequently targeted. 'We need.. preventative approaches': HARRC City officials, including Mayor Andrea Horwath and Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann, have been urging residents who discover "hate" in their neighbourhoods to report it. "Residents in Hamilton want assurance that our local police service is working proactively to monitor, track, investigate and report the individuals involved in extremist organizing in Hamilton with Canadian intelligence agencies," Nann wrote in an email to CBC Hamilton. "I encourage all residents in the city to learn more about hate symbols so they can report them accurately." Nann said she is working with both HCCI and HARRC to build skills residents can use to foster community safety in Ward 3 neighbourhoods. HARRC's executive director, Lyndon George, said "collective accountability," is needed, noting that "we can't keep treating racism and hate as individual experiences." "To confront hate in Hamilton, we need to shift from 'they' to 'we.' This is not a problem for impacted communities to solve alone; it's a responsibility we all share." George is concerned that racism and hate are too often reduced to "isolated incidents" or perpetuated by "bad actors" instead of being recognized as "systemic and experienced collectively by entire communities, often over generations," he said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Fresh clashes break out in Syria as the interim government struggles to ease tensions
A Syrian security checkpoint is seen as forces deploy in Mazraa village on the outskirts of Sweida city, in southern Syria, Sunday, July 20, 2025. A burned-out vehicle is seen in the foreground. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) BEIRUT — New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country. In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdish-led forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups. The outbreaks come at a time when Syria's interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swaths of northeastern Syria with the rest of the country. The Syrian government under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been struggling to consolidate control since he led a surprise insurgency that ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, ending the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have been suspicious of Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups. State state television said clashes between government forces and militias belonging to the Druze religious minority rocked the southern province of Sweida on Saturday after Druze factions attacked Syrian security forces, killing at least one member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who said the ceasefire has been broken. The Defense Ministry has not issued any formal statement. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said in addition to the member of the security forces killed, one Druze was killed and at least nine others were wounded in the clashes that took place in the in the western part of Sweida province. The Observatory said the clashes took place at the strategic Tal al-Hadeed heights that overlook Daraa province next door. Difficult conditions in Sweida State media says that aid convoys continue to enter Sweida city as a part of a tense truce after over a week of violent clashes in July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin clans backed by government forces. However, humanitarian conditions remain dire, and residents of Sweida have called for the road into the city to be fully opened, saying the aid that has come in is not enough. The clashes that displaced tens of thousands of people came after months of tensions between Damascus and Sweida. The fighting led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze minority, who are now skeptical of peaceful coexistence. Druze militias retaliated against Bedouin communities who largely lived in western areas of Sweida province, displacing many to neighboring Daraa. Elsewhere, in the northern Aleppo province, government-affiliated fighters clashed with the SDF. The Defense Ministry said three civilians and four soldiers were wounded after the SDF launched a barrage of rockets near the city of Manbij 'in an irresponsible way and for unknown reasons.' SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami on the other hand said the group was responding to shelling by 'undisciplined factions' within government forces on Deir Haffar, an eastern city in the same province. The eastern part of Aleppo province straddles areas controlled by the government and by the SDF. Though the two are slowly trying to implement a ceasefire and agreement that would integrate the areas under Damascus, tensions remain. 'The Ministry of Defense's attempts to distort facts and mislead public opinion do not contribute to security or stability,' Shami said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Israeli forces carry out raids bordering annexed Golan Heights In Quneitra province, in the south, the Israeli military announced it conducted another ground operation in the area that borders the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. It said its troops questioned several suspects they accuse of involvement in weapons trafficking in the village of Hader, and raided four areas where they found weapons being trafficked. Since Assad's ouster, Israel has conducted numerous strikes and military operations in southern Syria, saying its forces are taking out militant groups that they suspect could harm Israelis and residents in the Golan Heights. Damascus has been critical of Israel's military activity, and the two sides have been trying to reach a security arrangement through U.S.-mediated talks. Syria has repeatedly said it does not intend to take military action against Israel. Those talks intensified after Israel backed the Druze in Sweida during the earlier clashes. Israel struck military personnel near the southern city and most notably launched an airstrike targeting the Defense Ministry headquarters in the heart of Damascus. Kareem Chehayeb, The Associated Press
