HALIFAX—The Syrian refugee family whose seven children died in a tragic house fire was just a week away from moving out, according to a Facebook post from the group that privately sponsored them to Canada.Ebraheim and Kawthar Barho and their children, aged four months to 15 years, planned to leave the suburb of Spryfield because they wanted to move back to Elmsdale, a community of about 3,000 located north of Halifax. The four school-aged kids were looking forward returning to Elmsdale District School and Riverside Education Centre, where they were made to feel “so welcome and so happy.”“Although the Barho family moved to Spryfield in October, they missed the people of East Hants and planned to move back next week,” said the Facebook post from their sponsors, the Hants East Assisting Refugees Team Society, or HEART Society. The three-bedroom, 3.5-bath house on Quartz Dr. was available to lease for $1,500 a month as of March 1, according to the Picket Fence Home website. A man who answered the phone at Picket Fence Homes said the house was three or four years old. He would provide no further comment or identify himself. On Tuesday, the house was a burned-out shell in the back, the roof was gone and the windows in the second-floor master bedroom were smashed out and blackened around the sills.A basketball and pair of black shoes could be seen outside the front of the home. A large pink plastic toy was among items visible in the open garage.The tragic deaths have galvanized a heartbroken city, prompting an outpouring of grief and donations.By Tuesday afternoon, two separate fundraising accounts had more than $33,000 in them, including a GoFundMe, which had raised more than $25,000 in five hours. HEART’s campaign had raised $8,000 in its first hours.“For the past year and a half, the children have been able to enjoy life as kids should be able to: going to school, riding bicycles, swimming, having friends, running in the yar ...
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