Ray Tetreult, the owner of Ray’s Olde Tyme Barbershop in North Battleford, Sask., wants to pass on his scissors to a Syrian refugee.
Tetreult watched a news story about Mohammad Kurdi, a trained barber in Syria struggling to find work after moving to B.C.
Mohammad is the uncle of Alan Kurdi — the toddler who made international headlines after he was found washed ashore on a beach in Turkey in September 2015.
“So I put one and one together and thought, ‘Maybe I can get him to come here, takeover the shop and stay with me for about a year,’” Tetreult said.
Tetreult called Mohammad’s sister, Tima, to propose the idea of hiring Mohammad for a year and then selling him his business.
“It was a long phone call,” Tima said in an email to CTV Saskatoon.
“I told Ray, ‘Thank you for your thoughts and big heart.’ But I also told him that it would be a big and expensive move — to go and move his family, find a new home, school, pay for flights and start all over again.”
Tetreult said he understands, but is still hopeful of passing down his shop to the right person.
