A Syrian family, in Canada since January, has been left homeless after fire swept through their home and damaged eight other townhouses in the Mississauga complex.There is little left of unit 121 at 1560 Bloor St., the place that Khaled Alawad, his wife Judy, and their three children—Odai, 11, Marina, 9, and Mera, 4—have called home since they arrived in Canada in January 2016. “I lost myself, I don’t know where to start,” he said, adding that all of his family’s documents and identification are gone.Peel police are still investigating the fire, said Const. Bancroft White.Around 5 p.m. on Friday, Peel police responded to a 911 call at the same address. Alawad said he called after he was approached by a man who demanded that the bike outside of his house belonged to him.“He said bad words about Syrian refugees, and he lifted something — I think a gun or knife. We went into the house because I was scared,” he said. Two friends came to his aid, and helped Alawad hold the front door closed while the man tried to get in, but he was “too strong,” according to Alawad, and broke the door. Alawad called police and the man fled.Around 2 a.m. the next day, Alawad again called 911, this time after he saw flames. “After my family slept, I saw a light coming from the backyard, and I saw a big fire. I picked up my children and family and brought them outside and yelled, ‘please help, help, fire!’” He believes that the family was targeted.“You will find bad people and good people everywhere,” he said.It took firefighters almost five hours to put out the fire, said Alawad, and the family has “lost everything.”According to Const. Bancroft White of Peel police, a 33-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the first incident and is facing charges of mischief over $5,000, uttering death threats, and assault with a weapon. Police are not linking the arrest and the f ...
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