the sweetest welcome


welcome they have received in Canada.


They’ve created SmYd (pronounced Smed, with the capital “S” and “Y” representing Syria), a crunchy-on-the- outside,


cakey-on-the-inside twisty


dessert coated in a sweet glaze. Meant to be eaten warm, the flash- fried confection is based on mshabak, a traditional Syrian treat.


“It fits the weather. It fits the culture. It fits the country,” said Joubi. More importantly, SmYd is not meant to be simply a dessert fad (remember cronuts?), ready to be pushed off sugar mountain by the next trendy treat.


“SmYd is not just a business. We have a message,” Joubi explained. “SmYd is going to be presented as a story of peace, of love, of hope and big dreams.” Both Joubi and Sakkal feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to come to Canada and wanted to combine two cultures by giving back in one delicious way. “When we got here we really felt like we were home and that gave us the motivation to do something. There was no judgment about us, about where we came from,” Joubi added.


Joubi and Sakkal have spent almost a year testing recipes for SmYd— helped by Sakkal’s training in food engineering, and many happy (and full) volunteers. The Refugee Centre in Montreal has provided funding for ingredients, support.


testing, and marketing


The city they came from, and where both attended the same primary school,


is now unrecognizable.


“When I left Aleppo in 2014, it was like hell,” Sakkal said. “Every


Karim Jarjour


Bahjat Joubi (left) and Adel Sakkal are the creators of SmYd, inspired by a traditional dessert in their native Syria.


day when I left my home and said goodbye to my mother and sisters, I would wonder if I was going to come back.” Sakkal’s house was bombed twice, and he was forced to close his café because of the Syrian war, which is now entering its eighth year. Both Sakkal and Joubi spent years in neighbouring Lebanon, but it was difficult; jobs were scarce, pay was low, and opportunities were few for two young men with ambition and dreams.


“Here we have so much opportunity”


The entrepreneurs proudly for served


trays of SmYd when United Nations High Commissioner


Refugees


Filippo Grandi visited the Refugee Centre late last year. Telling their story to Grandi, and meeting Immigration, Refugees


and Citizenship Minister


Ahmed Hussen, as well as Montreal’s then-mayor Denis Coderre, Joubi


and UNHCR.CA Sakkal even motivation. When the business @UNHCRCANADA


gave more is


up and running, they are committed to donating a portion of sales to a Canadian charity.


The pair would like to have a food truck or open their own shop, adding specialty coffee and a sweet soup to the menu; in the future, they would love to build a franchise.


But they know this takes capital, business savvy, and long hours of hard work.


They remain undaunted. What’s most important to them is that they have been given a new life, where they can make their own future.


“I’ll never forget the day when we landed at the airport and we had people waiting


for people us, saying, complete


strangers,” Joubi said. “And I heard


‘Welcome,


bienvenue.’ Here we have so much opportunity. And we have peace and love of the majority of Canadians.” «


UNHCR CANADA


UNHCR CANADA /


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