SYDNEY, N.S. — Ashif Abdul Azeez knows he and his roommates are lucky to be alive after fire broke out in the Charlotte Street building they lived in on March 28.
But he can’t help but feel a little sad when he thinks about all they lost — the memories, the memorabilia and the necessities.
“I know we have got our life. If it had happened at midnight, we might not have known (about the fire). We are happy we have got our lives,” said the 27-year-old from Kerala, India.
“I’m just trying to, those were good memories. I had my three year livings in there. Whenever I go by that road, I really miss that place.”
You can hear the sadness in Azeez’s voice as he talks about how he, his five roommates and their three friends who lived upstairs (all from Kerala) lost everything except their cell phones and important personal documents.
You can get the sense he’s exhausted from the stress of trying to rebuild what they lost and cover their expenses when all of them who were working were laid off because of businesses closing or cutting staff due to the COVID-19 health protection orders which put restrictions on public gatherings and spaces.
“(Some of my roommates) lost their jobs too because of this COVID situation, and they were struggling as well at the same point,” he said. “Since I was going to work (full-time), I was the only one who could manage the expenses and things like that. Then I got laid off from work and then this happened.”
Azeez, his roommates and friends all came to Nova Scotia to study at Cape Breton University. Azeez was the only one who had graduated — the eight others were busy finishing final projects and studying for exams when the fire took their books, computers and work.
Rahul Krishna, 26, who lives with Azeez, said the university was understanding and extended project deadlines and their friends let them borrow their laptops to write their exams.
“We were waiting for everyone to finish their exams and then we borrowed their laptops, following social distancing rules,” he said, admitting it was stressful having to wait to start writing his.
“We were just watching the time.”
Azeez and Krishna’s friends weren’t the only ones to help them start rebuilding their Canadian lives.
After losing their home, the Red Cross paid for the first three nights in a hotel for the nine people and Cape Breton University covered the next two.
During those five days, the CBU Students Union helped locate a landlord who had a house in Sydney available for rent. Although the landlord was doing renovations and wasn’t planning on renting it then, Azeez said he completed the work quickly so they could move in after the five days at the hotel. The landlord even had some beds for them.
Their three friends who used to live upstairs from there were also able to find accomodations after the five-days in a hotel.
The university’s chaplain Father Doug MacDonald also helped them get some necessities and Azeez said people donated items like a sofa, pots and dishes.
One of their friends also did a GoFundMe campaign which raised $4,500 to be split between the nine of them. And another friend collected money to buy them a TV package.
But Azeez and Krishna know it will take a while before they will be able to replace all that they lost. Right now, they are focused on paying their bills and buying food while they can’t work.
“Right now, we’re just trying to figure it out,” Azeez said.
