A Syrian Refugee Beautifully Documented His First Ever Canadian Winter

Hani Al Moulia and his family arrived in Regina from a refugee camp. They just experienced their first Canadian winter.

Hani Al Moulia fled Syria in 2012 with his parents, four brothers, and sister. They were living in a refugee camp in Lebanon when Al Moulia, who is legally blind, enrolled in a photography course offered by the UN Refugee Agency. Armed with a camera, he documented life in the camp in a photo series that was later featured by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. The Al Moulia family arrived in Regina, Saskatchewan in 2015, and BuzzFeed Canada commissioned him to document his first winter.

Here's what a Canadian winter looks like through his eyes and words.

We were along a highway near Regina and I saw this amazing sky with the snow. We never saw a snow at this time of year in Syria. We'd get snow for one week — not for like six months! This is really funny to me.

Hani Al Moulia

We went skating for the first time at a rink in downtown Regina. I fell a lot of times. In the picture it's great to see all those people from around the world sharing a traditional Canadian way of fun.

Hani Al Moulia

Here's my sister Lina, 19, enjoying her first skating experience. Back at home it would have been embarrassing for her to go out and skate and fall in front of everyone. In Canada she can try whatever she wants and not worry about it.

Hani Al Moulia

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