As missiles fell in Syria this weekend, a family in St. John's was up all night, hoping their loved ones would survive.
"We had very hard time. We spent our nights crying and scared about our families there," said Osama, a Syrian refugee from Damascus now living in St. John's who has asked that his last name be withheld, for the safety of his family back home.
This weekend, the U.S., aided by Britain and France, launched an estimated 105 missiles at targets just outside Damascus and Homs. Donald Trump said the attack was in response to an alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against people in Douma, about 10 km northeast of the centre of Damascus.
Russia and Syria deny any chemical attack took place.
As reports came in of Damascus skies glowing orange with explosions, Osama and his wife waited for word from his family — his father, mother, three sisters and two brothers — still in the Syrian capital.
Always, they [are] waiting: either life, or death.- Osama
"The war doesn't know anything. This is politics," he said. "They kill everything: plants, humans, men, women, children."
He was especially concerned about his parents. His mother has asthma and can't run away.
"Always, they [are] waiting: either life, or death."
Fire and destruction
In Syria, Osama was a machine operator and an electrician. But in 2013, he lost the certificate that said so.
"It had fire at my house, during the beginning of the war," he said. "My house had fire and [was] destroyed. Nothing there."
He fled with his family to a nearby city.
"After that, we moved to another city and another city and another city."
In 2014, they arrived in Lebanon and lived there for a year and a half. But Osama's son has hemophilia and health care was scarce and expensive.
"When he was in Lebanon, his medical condition was very bad. One needle in Lebanon cost me $800," he said.
We need more than this.- Husam
He was told about health care in Canada, so he applied to move his family. They arrived in St. John's in January of 2016.
"My son, here is very good — very, very good — for his medical condition."
In St. John's, Osama has been doing high school courses at Academy Canada and graduates in August. If he wants to be an electrician again, he has to back to school and get re-certified.
'No life, no humanity, no mercy'
Osama's family in Damascus were okay after the weekend's airstrikes — the U.S. government claims no causalities were reported. But conditions there remain grim.
"My family told me you can find people [who] died here on the road, and you can smell just death. No life, no humanity, no mercy there after the Trump attack, before the Trump attack — always."
Through his classes at Academy Canada and through the Association for New Canadians, the Syrian families in St. John's all know each other, he said, and many of them have been discussing the weekend's events. The reactions in the community are mixed, he said. Some, like him, are terrified. Others are happy about the strikes.
"If the Trump attack is just for the government, we don't mind," said Husam, a refugee from Syria and friend of Osama's. His last name is also withheld.
Husam lived in Daraa, before fleeing to Jordan, where he lived for three years before coming to St. John's with his wife and four children.
"But we worry, you know, because sometimes you can't just attack the government. Sometimes you'll attack the people. So we are worried about that."
Husam said that, ultimately, he is happy that the U.S. and its allies struck back against Assad's regime, but that it won't make a difference.
"We need more than this," he said.
"I think if U.S.A. or all the world do like that, Bashar al-Assad will leave Syria and the people will be safe."