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Ex-refugee from Liberia relishes new B.C. home

Victor Dillon has slowly adapted from a world where he longed for a future beyond the dusty streets of a Ghanaian refugee camp to a new reality in Canada, where his life consists of English classes and report cards.
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Victor Dillon with Green Party leader and Saanich Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May, environmentalist Vicky Husband, Victor Dillon and Hildegard Horie.

Victor Dillon has slowly adapted from a world where he longed for a future beyond the dusty streets of a Ghanaian refugee camp to a new reality in Canada, where his life consists of English classes and report cards.

The 30-year-old Liberian refugee has marked six months in Canada, thanks to the dogged determination of a group of North Saanich residents who fought for four years to bring him here.

Dillon is studying at Trinity Western University in Langley and living with a host family.

“They are very welcoming,” Dillon said of the couple who owns the house and the Chinese exchange student in the other room. “We have dinner together. We chat after dinner. We are all like a family. ”

Dillon has done so well that he’s skipped ahead a level in his English as a second language courses. He said he’s well known on campus by students and teachers who have heard his story.

Dillon’s family fled Liberia in 1989 during the civil war, after his father had been tortured because of his position in the government. Dillon’s father left the refugee camp to return to Liberia and never returned. It’s believed he was murdered. His mother and younger brother set out to look for him and they are also believed to have been killed.

Dillon was left alone in the Buduburam refugee camp near Accra, Ghana, and was adopted by a woman named Sarah Weeks, who was also caring for her grandson, Ralph Weeks.

Ralph Weeks was accepted into Canada on a university scholarship in 1996 and promised to sponsor his grandmother and Dillon as soon as he was able. Sarah Weeks died in the refugee camp waiting for acceptance to Canada. Ralph Weeks, now a Canadian citizen serving with the Royal Canadian Navy at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, was determined get Dillon to Canada, and shared his story with a woman from his church, Hildegard Horie, a North Saanich resident in her 70s.

Horie collected 130 signatures in support of Dillon and eventually gained the support of Green party leader and Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May. Dillon was finally granted a student visa and arrived in North Saanich in late December 2013.

“He enjoys the safety. He’s no longer on guard,” Horie said, referring to the death threats Dillon received in the refugee camp. “The support from the students and the teachers is really great.”

Dillon paid a visit to Horie and her husband last week, happily showing off his report card.

One challenge that remains is paying for Dillon’s tuition fees, which are $9,000 per semester. Dillon is not allowed to work under restrictions on his student visa.

Horie is planning a benefit concert on June 22 at 3 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of the Cross at 3787 Cedar Hill Rd. Victoria pianist Toshiko Tampo will perform along with a violinist, harpist and singers. Admission is by donation.

Horie has also started a started a non-profit organization to help refugees, called the B.C. Supportive Society for Restarting Lives.

kderosa@timescolonist.com