Latest news with #Albasha
Toronto Star
07-06-2025
- Toronto Star
‘The road is long': Syrian refugee engineering a fresh start in Montreal
MONTREAL - When Jad Albasha arrived in Quebec in 2016 as a 21-year-old fleeing his war-torn home of Syria, he landed in a snow-covered world that spoke French, a language in which he did not understand a single word. But now it rolls off the tongue as if Albasha has lived here all of his life.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘The road is long': Syrian refugee engineering a fresh start in Montreal
MONTREAL – When Jad Albasha arrived in Quebec in 2016 as a 21-year-old fleeing his war-torn home of Syria, he landed in a snow-covered world that spoke French, a language in which he did not understand a single word. But now it rolls off the tongue as if Albasha has lived here all of his life. When he graduates on Saturday with a master's degree in civil engineering from Polytechnique Montréal, it will mark yet another milestone that shows how far he's come. He went from being a third-year civil engineering student in Syria, just six months away from earning a degree, to wondering if he would be stuck working at a grocery store in Laval, north of Montreal, forever. 'The road is long. I sometimes wondered 'am I going to get there?' ' Albasha said in an interview. 'Nine years later, we see that it's possible to take steps.' Albasha decided he would immerse himself in French upon arrival. First with a francization course to learn the basics starting in March 2016 and lasting about nine months. The goal was to speak French with the least amount of errors. Then, Albasha enrolled in a junior college program that would allow him to eventually resume his university career. However, his transcripts and missing paperwork from Syria led him to be rejected by almost every local university due to incomplete applications. With the exception of one: Polytechnique Montréal. The engineering school, which is affiliated with the Université de Montréal, has a large cohort of international students. Nine years later, his French is fluent. Enough so that he's able to work as a teaching assistant at Polytechnique. 'Merci, Bonjour, Bonsoir,' that was the limit of his French in January 2016, Albasha recalled in an interview. 'I remember before I started my French courses I was working at a grocery store and I wasn't even a cashier, I was a bag boy because I couldn't speak to clients,' Albasha said. 'It was difficult, every time someone asked me a question in French, I'd have to ask a colleague.' In January 2013, bombings at the Aleppo University killed 78 people and convinced the family it was time to leave the only home they'd known. His family — including a twin brother, an older brother and his parents, spent some time briefly in Lebanon before Justin Trudeau's Liberal government expedited Syrian refugee claims allowing them to come to Canada over a period of a few months. Even today, Montreal snow reminds him of his arrival to the country. He associates the fresh flakes with a renewal of sorts. 'It's a symbol of happiness for me, a new chance, a new start,' Albasha said. He works at AtkinsRéalis Group Inc., where he specializes in hydroelectric dams, a priority for Quebec's economic future, according to the current provincial government. He doesn't see his family returning to Aleppo. All of his friends have either spread across the globe or have died in the war. Montreal is where the family's foundation has been laid. Polytechnique Montreal's president Maud Cohen said Albasha demonstrates an important need for Quebec to bring in more engineers amid an aging population and a demographic deficit. 'The engineers really are building Quebec, they're responsible for innovation, creativity, everything that's happening in tech, in high-tech,' Cohen said. 'So might as well bring in students like this that have been trained somewhere else that have the potential of bringing a contribution to the economy faster, that have the potential to be trained here. 'We need more people like Jad … and it's not to diminish the role of people that are already living here.' Last December, Quebec adopted a law that put a cap on international student applications, with the ultimate aim of reducing overall immigration. At a time when international students are facing a ban brought by the U.S. government and Canadian institutions look to capitalize on a brain drain due to funding cuts in the U.S., Cohen has a message for the government: 'Help us help you.' 'We recruit high-level students so how can we work together to make sure that we help you provide what the economy needs and to help us in the same way with either funding, or help us (by having) higher quotas to recruit.' Albasha is a mentor for others. He's the resource for many attempting to start anew. 'Sadly, I didn't have a chance to meet someone who'd lived through the same things as me, so I didn't have that example,' he said. But everyone deserves a chance regardless of where they come from. While recently presenting a paper in Winnipeg, Albasha went to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Inscribed on the wall was a quote: 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.' 'I found this to be profound and true,' he said. 'Sometimes we're not lucky, but we can't forget that if we persevere, we can get there in most cases.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025.
Al Arabiya
04-05-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Yemen government names finance minister as new PM
Yemen's internationally recognised government named finance minister Salem bin Buraik as its new prime minister on Saturday, after his predecessor quit saying he was unable to fully exercise his powers. Alimi named Bin Buraik prime minister in a decision published by the official Saba news agency. No other ministerial changes were announced. Analyst Mohammed Albasha, of the US-based Basha Report Risk Advisory, posted on X that Bin Buraik is seen as non-confrontational -- 'a sharp contrast to his predecessor, with whom much of the cabinet, and even the president, had fallen out'. After Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, Yemen's government withdrew to Aden in the south. The group went on to control most population centres in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country. Bin Mubarak earlier posted on X that he had handed Alimi his letter of resignation. In it he said: 'I could not exercise my constitutional powers and take the necessary decisions to reform government institutions or implement rightful governmental changes.' The changes come as the Houthis who control much of Yemen wage fire missiles at Israel and target shipping in key waterways in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. In his resignation letter, Bin Mubarak said that despite the obstacles he had achieved 'many successes', citing fiscal and administrative reforms and an anti-corruption drive. 'Personal ambition' However, Albasha told AFP Bin Mubarak had been 'in constant friction with the Presidential Leadership Council'. 'Bin Mubarak wanted to be more than Prime Minister -- he wanted the powers of the presidency. That aspiration isolated him politically,' Albasha said. The three Yemeni official sources, who spoke to AFP requested anonymity in order to speak freely, said Bin Mubarak had suspended the budgets of several ministries including defence, citing corruption, further fuelling tensions. 'His drive for greater power -- viewed by many as fuelled by personal ambition -- led to repeated confrontations with key ministers and most Council members,' Albasha said. Yemen's former ambassador to the United States and envoy to the UN, Bin Mubarak is a staunch adversary of the Houthis, who abducted him in 2015 and held him for several days. He became foreign minister in 2018 and prime minister in February last year. His departure should 'ease internal tensions and reduce the deep divisions that have plagued Yemen's internationally recognised government -- a necessary and positive step toward restoring cohesion', Albasha said. The conflict in Yemen has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, although the fighting decreased significantly after a UN-negotiated six-month truce in 2022. Since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they say are linked to it. They paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire, but in March a threat to resume attacks over Israel's Gaza aid blockade triggered a renewed and sustained US air campaign targeting areas in Yemen they control.
Malaysian Reserve
04-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Yemen government names finance minister as new PM
DUBAI – Yemen's internationally recognised government named finance minister Salem bin Buraik as its new prime minister on Saturday, after his predecessor quit saying he was unable to fully exercise his powers. Outgoing premier Ahmed Bin Mubarak (picture) had disputed for months with Rashad al-Alimi, who heads the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, two ministers and a member of the PLC told AFP. Alimi named Bin Buraik prime minister in a decision published by the official Saba news agency. No other ministerial changes were announced. Analyst Mohammed Albasha, of the US-based Basha Report Risk Advisory, posted on X that Bin Buraik is seen as non-confrontational — 'a sharp contrast to his predecessor, with whom much of the cabinet, and even the president, had fallen out'. After Iran-backed Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, Yemen's government withdrew to Aden in the south. The rebels went on to control most population centres in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of beleaguered government forces in 2015, but met with little success. Albasha said Bin Buraik is 'backed by UAE-aligned Yemeni politicians and enjoys strong ties with Saudi officials', and this would have been crucial in securing Riyadh's endorsement. Bin Mubarak earlier posted on X that he had handed Alimi his letter of resignation. In it he said: 'I could not exercise my constitutional powers and take the necessary decisions to reform government institutions or implement rightful governmental changes.' The changes come as the Huthis who control much of Yemen wage fire missiles at Israel and target shipping in key waterways in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. In his resignation letter, Bin Mubarak said that despite the obstacles he had achieved 'many successes', citing fiscal and administrative reforms and an anti-corruption drive. However, Albasha told AFP Bin Mubarak had been 'in constant friction with the Presidential Leadership Council'. 'Bin Mubarak wanted to be more than Prime Minister — he wanted the powers of the presidency. That aspiration isolated him politically,' Albasha said. The three Yemeni official sources, who spoke to AFP requested anonymity in order to speak freely, said Bin Mubarak had suspended the budgets of several ministries including defence, citing corruption, further fuelling tensions. 'His drive for greater power — viewed by many as fuelled by personal ambition — led to repeated confrontations with key ministers and most Council members,' Albasha said. Yemen's former ambassador to the United States and envoy to the UN, Bin Mubarak is a staunch adversary of the Huthis, who abducted him in 2015 and held him for several days. He became foreign minister in 2018 and prime minister in February last year. His departure should 'ease internal tensions and reduce the deep divisions that have plagued Yemen's internationally recognised government — a necessary and positive step toward restoring cohesion', Albasha said. The conflict in Yemen has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, although the fighting decreased significantly after a UN-negotiated six-month truce in 2022. Since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel, the Huthis have repeatedly targeted Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they say are linked to it. They paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire, but in March a threat to resume attacks over Israel's Gaza aid blockade triggered a renewed and sustained US air campaign targeting areas in Yemen they control. –AFP
Eyewitness News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
PM of Yemen government announces resignation
Bitter disputes had for months opposed Bin Mubarak and Rashad al-Alimi, who heads the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), two ministers and a member of the PLC told AFP. They requested anonymity in order to speak freely. After Iran-backed Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, Yemen's government withdrew to Aden in the south. The rebels went on to control most population centres in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of beleaguered government forces in 2015, but with little success. On Saturday, Bin Mubarak posted on X that he had met the PLC's Alimi and resigned. He also shared his resignation letter in which he said: "I could not exercise my constitutional powers and take the necessary decisions to reform government institutions or implement rightful governmental changes." His move comes as the Huthis wage a campaign of missile attacks on Israel and target shipping in key waterways in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. Bin Mubarak said that despite the obstacles he had managed to achieve "many successes in a short space of time", citing fiscal and administrative reforms and an anti-corruption drive. However, analyst Mohammed Albasha, of the US-based Basha Report Risk Advisory, told AFP Bin Mubarak had been "in constant friction with the Presidential Leadership Council". "Bin Mubarak wanted to be more than Prime Minister -- he wanted the powers of the presidency. That aspiration isolated him politically," Albasha said. 'Power struggle' The Yemeni official sources who spoke to AFP said Bin Mubarak had suspended the budgets of several ministries including defence, citing corruption, further fuelling tensions. "His drive for greater power -- viewed by many as fuelled by personal ambition -- led to repeated confrontations with key ministers and most Council members," Albasha said. "Over time, this power struggle eroded trust." Bin Mubarak, Yemen's former ambassador to the United States, is a staunch adversary of the Huthis, who abducted him in 2015 and held him for several days. Previously he was chief of staff of the presidential office and Yemen's envoy to the United Nations. He was appointed foreign minister in 2018 and prime minister on February 5, 2024. His departure should "ease internal tensions and reduce the deep divisions that have plagued Yemen's internationally recognised government -- a necessary and positive step toward restoring cohesion," Albasha said. The war in Yemen has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, although the fighting decreased significantly after a UN-negotiated six-month truce in 2022. Since the war in the Gaza Strip broke out in October 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel, the Huthis have repeatedly targeted Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they say are linked to it. The Huthis paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire, but in March a threat to resume attacks over Israel's Gaza aid blockade triggered a renewed and sustained US air campaign targeting areas in Yemen they control.
