When asked about her life in Syria a decade ago, Amani Shamseddin struggles to find the words.

Sitting on the couch in her Edmonton home as her children clamour for her attention, she pauses to think.

91裸聊视频淚t wasn91裸聊视频檛 safe, we had so many incidents,91裸聊视频� the 33-year-old says after a moment. 91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 want to bring it back.91裸聊视频�

In the fall of 2015, the newly elected Liberal federal government embarked on its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrians fleeing the country91裸聊视频檚 brutal civil war in just 100 days.

Since then, Canada has welcomed more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

Among them were Shamseddin, her husband Mahmoud and their children Ahmad and Ghena, who were eight and four when the family fled Damascus in April 2016. The family briefly stayed in Lebanon before securing asylum in Canada.

According to Global Affairs Canada, more than 250,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict that began in 2011, and there are more than seven million internally displaced Syrians and six million Syrian refugees around the world.

After almost a decade in Canada, Shamseddin says she never could91裸聊视频檝e imagined her family91裸聊视频檚 escape and the community they91裸聊视频檝e now found in Edmonton. While settling in a new country has had its challenges, their journey to safety is something she doesn91裸聊视频檛 take for granted.

91裸聊视频淲e had so many hopes,91裸聊视频� she says, smiling.

Every day in Damascus was filled with fear, Shamseddin explains. Airstrikes rattled their home, and countless neighbours died as they fled for their lives. Shamseddin says she was scared to send Ahmad to school or have Ghena start kindergarten as bombs detonated in the city.

Her family didn91裸聊视频檛 think much about the future, she says, because they were only trying to survive each day.

91裸聊视频淚 never thought about my life later on, because I didn91裸聊视频檛 know what might change,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淲e think day by day.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t was terrifying.91裸聊视频�

It was late 2015 when they learned that Canada could offer them a future. They already had some relatives in Alberta, who encouraged them to claim asylum. For Shamseddin, the choice was clear.

91裸聊视频淲e thought it might be a good opportunity for us and the kids for a better future,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淲e had hopes, but you never know if it91裸聊视频檚 going to happen.91裸聊视频�

A mosque and a church in Toronto teamed up to sponsor the family, and by the following April, they were on a plane.

Shamseddin, who was just 25 at the time, says she had never travelled farther than Lebanon. She remembers the moment the plane touched down at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

91裸聊视频淚 (was) overwhelmed by everything. I was just imagining it was going to be like paradise,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淲e were crying, in tears.91裸聊视频�

Initially, the family struggled to settle in Toronto, she says. They were crammed in a tiny two-bedroom apartment and struggled with the city91裸聊视频檚 affordability crisis. Shamseddin says they also missed having an Islamic community nearby. A different culture, language and weather were all part of the challenge, too.

Three years ago, they moved to Edmonton to be closer to relatives. The relief of being near family was only made more powerful when they officially received Canadian citizenships.

91裸聊视频淲e felt that whenever we get our citizenship, we can go wherever we want 91裸聊视频� like our dream is coming true,91裸聊视频� she says.

The feeling of safety is something she wishes for her family members still in Syria. Last month, the country91裸聊视频檚 president, Bashar Assad, fled the country after opposition forces seized Damascus. It marked a dramatic end to the Assad family91裸聊视频檚 50-year control of the country and his own 14 years of rule defined by the civil war.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller has said Canada will continue to evaluate the asylum claims of people who have left Syria, even as some European countries are pausing those claims after the fall of the Assad regime.

Canada has roughly 1,600 pending refugee claims from Syria as of Sept. 30.

For Shamseddin, life since coming to Canada hasn91裸聊视频檛 been easy. The family is still trying to keep up with the cost of living and now with four kids, she says she and her husband are always pressed for time.

But their challenges haven91裸聊视频檛 stopped them from moving forward, she says.

While seven months pregnant with her youngest child, Shamseddin began studying to become a teacher91裸聊视频檚 assistant, which she describes as 91裸聊视频渟o hard.91裸聊视频� She went on to earn her diploma and now works at a local school, while her husband works in maintenance.

Her eldest son Ahmad, now 17 and in his final year of high school, plans to become a doctor. Ghena, now in Grade 9, hopes to become a nurse. The couple91裸聊视频檚 two youngest children, Selena and Mila, were both born in Canada and are now aged six and two.

When reflecting on their years in Canada and the war they escaped, Shamseddin says she encourages her children to learn from their journey, and to always stay resilient.

91裸聊视频淏e the best example of a Syrian, a Muslim, a human being,91裸聊视频� she tells them. 91裸聊视频淣o matter what challenge you face.91裸聊视频�