A newly-arrived Syrian refugee saved the day when a bride’s dress broke on her wedding day.
Jo Du suffered a wedding day nightmare when the zip on her dress broke shortly before the ceremony in Guelph, Ontario.
With no chance of getting the dress fixed at a shop at such short notice, a bridesmaid was sent over to a neighbour’s - and it was there they found Ibrahim Halil Dudu, whose family was being hosted by David Hobson.
Wedding photographer Lindsay Coulter explained in a Facebook post: “She came back with a handful of tools and some interesting information: the next door neighbour was hosting a family of Syrian refugees and the father was a master tailor and would be happy to help if we weren’t successful.
“After a few minutes of further attempts there was a knock on the door and the neighbour along with the tailor & his son arrived to help, sewing kit in tow.
I went out to take some photos of the groomsmen and came back to find the tailor putting the finishing stitches on her dress.
“The neighbour David told me they had just moved to Canada four days ago. They didn’t speak a word of English, and had been communicating by using Google Translate.”
Halil Dudu said that he was pleased to be able to help people in his new home country.
Through a translator, he told CTV News: “I was so excited and so happy (to) help Canadian people like other people helped.”
Coulter said that the experience had made her feel lucky and proud to be a Canadian. She said: “Every weekend I take photos of people on the happiest days of their lives, and today one man who has seen some of the worst things our world has to offer came to the rescue.
“I am so proud to live in Canada, a country who has opened our doors to refugees countless times. I’m in awe of the families who have welcomed these strangers in to their homes and lives, and I’m inspired by the resilience of the Syrian people. We are truly blessed.”
Canada has been praised for its attitude towards refugees.
Last month, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon expressed his gratitude Friday for Canada’s response to the refugee crisis, praising citizens who extended “caring, warm hands’’ to people who had nowhere else to go.
In a speech at the University of Calgary, Ban said he was grateful for the “generous and compassionate’’ commitment of the Canadian government to resettle tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.