At a time when the U.S. president is trying to impose a travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim nations, and when a young man walked into a Quebec City mosque and opened fire, killing six innocent worshipers, officials with the local junior hockey team wanted to underscore that Canadians welcome newcomers.
The Ridge Meadows Flames invited immigrants to a uniquely Canadian experience – their first live hockey game, on Friday night at Cam Neely Arena.
“I take a lot of enjoyment in watching folks who haven’t seen hockey before,” said Rick Garrison, of the Flames telecast crew.
“It’s part of the Canadian culture, and you know how important hockey is to Canadians,” he added.
Garrison said they generally enjoy their first Flames game.
“We’ve always had good responses.”
There were about 25 people with Yumiko King, who works with the Maple Ridge office of Immigrant Social Services of B.C.
Countries represented included Afghanistan, Vietnam, Laos, China, Russia and Iran.
They are enjoying lots of new experiences, and King said they were just as excited about Friday’s big snowfall as they were their junior hockey experience.
A young woman from Afghanistan, Madineh Feizi, 19, was at her first live hockey game, along with her father Shahwali and mother Fatemeh, grandmother Nafasgol and a little brother.
She said they have felt welcomed, and never been the target of discrimination since coming to Maple Ridge.
“Nobody is racist to us,” she said. “But we see it in other places, and it makes us sad.”
She said her family teaches that other religions should be respected.
“All of us should be like one,” she said. “It’s a free country, and we respect each other.”
The Feizi family won a ‘huck-a-puck,’ getting their puck closest to orange traffic cones set out on the ice, and Madineh was off to find out what prize they would get.
Ahmed Ismatullo is also from Afghanistan, but he has been in Canada since 2006, and his wife Shabnam came four years ago.
Ahmed has become a hockey fan.
“It’s good. Always I watch at home with my dad, especially we watch the Canucks.”
Junior hockey in his hometown was a new experience.
“I love it. This is my first time watching live, and I like is so much. Live is better than the TVs.”
The young couple has a busy life – she is studying, and he works manufacturing energy bars for a food company in Port Coquitlam. They attend a mosque in Surrey.
Ahmed was more eager to talk about hockey than the mosque shooting in Quebec City.
“I don’t get it. I just watch TV, and I don’t get what’s going on,” he said.
“I love Canada. I’m very happy here.”
Song Lor, a teenager, came from Laos, and has been in Canada for five years. He was wearing an authentic Canucks jersey, and said it was just the third time he had been to a live hockey game. In Laos, he didn’t watch sports of any kind.
“There was no electricity,” he explained.
There were two families of Hmong people at the game who lived in refugee camps in Thailand before coming to Canada.
Song said he has never played ice hockey, but he has been able to get in the game, playing street hockey with his cousin.
Garrison explained that Meadowridge Collision was the main sponsor, and paid for all the tickets, and bought chicken wings and other appetizers that the immigrants enjoyed between periods.
“It’s a way for them to give back to the community,” he said of the sponsors.
Flames general manager Jamie Fiset said his team will continue to offer the introductory game to new Canadians.
“It’s part of being inclusive, and part of being a multicultural country.”