FROM SYRIA TO ANTIGONISH - For nearly 30 years we created and shipped our specialty treats all over the Middle East and Europe. Like much of our homeland, in late 2012 the original Hadhad family chocolate factory in Damascus, Syria was destroyed in a bombing that forced our family to leave everything behind and flee to Lebanon. For three years we found ourselves as refugees with little opportunity or hope. Our lives had been forever altered and we dreamed of being able to once again live lives we could love. When our family was invited to Canada, our dreams came true. If you lost everything you had, due to natural disaster or war, would you go to another location to start all over again?

REBUILDING With the support of our new community of Antigonish and the people of Nova Scotia, we have rebuilt our chocolate company and are once again doing the work we love. Peace By Chocolate was founded at the beginning of 2016, They are now one of the biggest employers in Antigonish. This past spring, they opened a large flagship store in Halifax and became Canadian citizens. Their story is captured in the book Peace By Chocolate: The Hadhad's Family's Remarkable Journey from Syria to Canada by CBC reporter Jon Tattrie. Were you aware of Peace by Chocolate prior to this survey?

"In our homeland, my family owned a chocolate empire that was lost in a war. I was an aspiring physician. I was trying to finish my medical degree. Everyone was involved in contributing to society and one way or another. But in a split moment, everything was gone. No one was born to become a refugee. No one hoped to become a refugee one day. Becoming a refugee is not a life goal. It's not a decision. It's not a choice." "From the moment that I landed at the Canadian airport is certainly when the feeling became a reality. I was treated like I belonged — like I was born in Canada and taken away to the Middle East for 25 years of my life and then brought back. That's how it felt because I was treated like a Canadian. I had every single right to do everything I wanted, everything I dreamed of." Tareq Hadhad Did you know that Filmmaker Jonathan Keijser, was inspired to bring his story to the big screen.?

In response to the devastating earthquake which has affected Syria and Turkey. "The toll will be too many thousands of lives lost for the heart to take. There are not enough prayers or thoughts to heal those families. Millions more remain alive, many injured, and in circumstances, our family knows all too well. Devastated, in danger, and unsure of their next meal - I am scared for these families." So, effective immediately Tareq Hadhad has directed 100% of all proceeds from a special line of products to be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Syria-Türkey Earthquake Relief Fund. "Every single second and cents count " peacebychocolate.ca He remembers what it is to lose hope, to feel lost and alone. He also knows what a nation choosing to say yes, to help, can mean for thousands of families just like his. He asks us to do for them what thousands of people did for him and be there when it counts. Humanity can come together in times of crisis to support one another because every dollar helps to save lives. Have you given some support to the Red Cross or other Relief Agency in your country?

As Valentine's Day has just passed, this is a true love story about Chocolate. Tareq's father graduated as a civil engineer and went to a wedding. He found that everyone was happy when they were eating chocolate. He gave his sweetheart (Tareq's mother) a box of choclates and they fell in love. "I was born because of a box of chocolate!" exclaimed Tareq. Do you consider this, "the most romantic thing ever, " as said by Mark Critch?