“I lie to him and I tell him that there is hope”: no Palestinian has left Gaza thanks to Canada

Despite the announcement of a specific visa program that was introduced in January, none of the members of the Canadian-Palestinian families arrived from Gaza.

Since March 4, 2024, 12 people have left the Gaza Strip by their own means and have been allowed to enter Canada. In addition, 986 applications are in process, which means that they meet all requirements. And many families are still waiting for codes in order to be able to file their application officially.

The conflict has now been described as a “humanitarian disaster.” All the indicators are in red: the crisis is food, health and social. More than 31,000 people have been killed by the Israeli army, not including Palestinians who have died from starvation or whose whereabouts have been lost under the rubble, since October 7, 2023.

Video: Adrien Gaertner

Beyond numbers, lives

Samar Alkhdour stands up before putting down his backpack, on which is hung a sign that says: “Day 160 of the genocide in Gaza”, and where the number of dead is displayed. Among them was his 13-year-old daughter Jana, who could not be saved. She was granted permission to come to Canada two weeks after her death.

“I had a very difficult time because I didn't talk to my two children [who are here] about my daughter's departure,” she says, sitting and focused on her words. “It was the real pain for me. My other nine-year-old daughter, Shams, asked me when she saw me filling out paperwork for my sister: “Is this a form for Jana?” ” Shams was still unaware that his big sister had passed away.

Jana had cerebral palsy and died of malnutrition while taking refuge in a church while waiting to be evacuated to Canada. Her mother had been trying to get her to the country for years.

Arriving in 2019 in Quebec as an asylum seeker, Samar knows that this journey can be difficult.

“I chose Canada to apply for refugee at the time because I believed it was a country that valued human rights. Today, I am disappointed, but I hope that things will change,” she explains in excellent French, a language she learned in two years to integrate into Quebec as quickly as possible.

‍

Today, Samar is working to save her 28-year-old sister Siham, her husband, and their two children. “We are 10 years apart, and I consider her a bit like my daughter because I raised her when she was growing up,” says the 38-year-old woman.

She fears that the same fate that befell her daughter will befall her sister.

‍

‍

Like many Palestinians, She launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe in order to be able to pay the large amounts required at the border with Egypt to get out of Gaza. These amounts, which are currently estimated at 5,000 US dollars, vary. They are not taken care of by Ottawa.

Since the launch, in January 2024, of the emergency program for Gazans with families in Canada, Samar has been waiting for an answer for his sister.

“She's counting on me. Every time we talk to each other, she asks me the question, “What is going on with our request? Is there hope?” ”. And after a short pause, Samar says, “And I'm lying, because I don't have an answer, and I tell him that there is hope.”

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in January that the State of Israel must prevent and punish acts that could lead to genocide. Since then, international authorities have been called upon to decide on the issue.

‍

Ottawa radio silence

Ibrahem Isbitan, a journalist who shared the daily lives of residents of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, must soon leave the enclave to go to Cairo, Egypt. However, it was thanks to a fundraiser that he was able to raise money to go out.

“We have not heard anything from Canada,” he laments. It is the money from the fundraiser that allows us to leave Gaza.” The sum raised allows six people in his family to leave through the border with Egypt. “I still hope to raise money to get my sister and brother out,” he explains in an online exchange.

A spokesperson for Immigration Canada assures us that “Canada is reaching out to local authorities at all levels to advocate for the approval of names proposed by the Government of Canada for their passage.”

“We will continue to monitor the situation and work with our partners to support those affected by the crisis who have a connection to Canada. Our current priority is keeping families together and getting them to safety as quickly as possible.”

During a press conference held on March 15, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, questioned by La Converse on the situation of Gazans who are unable to leave the enclave, said that it is at the border with Egypt that the approvals are blocking. He said that he had “several conversations [...] with various authorities in order to put pressure on them to recognize Canadian approvals and get people out more quickly. We know how important it is to get Canadian families out of Gaza.”

‍

‍

However, the problem also seems to be upstream, since more than two months after the launch of the program, many Canadians of Palestinian origin who submitted an application for their loved ones still have not received a response, or even in some cases a code that would allow them to go further in their efforts.

For Dalya Shaat, also met by La Converse in January, it's a panic. “No requests for our family members have been accepted,” she reports. I signed every petition I could get.”

Same scenario for Samar Alkhdour, who is still waiting for a code. This is the key to the next step, which is to submit the file for your loved one.

“All I have is waiting. It's unfortunate, because people are dying in Gaza every minute. Waiting for each procedure makes no sense! The mother of the family is outraged. It scares me for my sister because every minute counts.”

And since there is not always an Internet network in Gaza, she can sometimes go for long hours, even more than 24 hours, without news. “Imagine the stress I am experiencing,” she says.

Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, did not want to comment on the delays in granting codes to apply for a temporary visa to flee Gaza. Through his press secretary, he said that there was “nothing to add” to the response provided by the ministry.

Dalya Shaat believes that money should be used to make the government move. “I think citizens should have the right to not pay taxes this year; [the language of money] is the only one that can work.”

“We use our funds to send arms to Israel, which is bombing Gaza, an enclave smaller than the city of Laval,” she exclaims.

It is also possible to withhold a portion of your taxes to oppose wars. The Conscience Canada group offers a form that allows withhold a percentage of your taxes corresponding to the percentage of the national budget devoted to the army. For 2023, this percentage is 6.5%.

“I am a conscientious objector, I oppose the war and I refuse to be forced to support the war by conscripting my taxes. Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I ask that no portion of my taxes be used for war,” the form reads.

‍

Welcoming refugees: “Solidarity will be needed”

Although no Gazans have yet arrived in Canada under the special temporary visa program, we must be ready to support the families who will welcome them.

Under the temporary resident visa program, Canadian families will have to support their loved ones once they are in the country. Other programs, such as the one dedicated to the reception of people displaced in Ukraine as a result of the war, offer more coverage. For example, in Quebec, Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war have access to provincial medical coverage (RAMQ), a driver's license and subsidized childcare services, among other things.

Under the program prepared for them, Gazans will be able to have access to limited and temporary health care coverage for 90 days.

“A lot of Canadian-Palestinian families who are going to take in loved ones fleeing Gaza are going to need financial assistance because they will be responsible for these people for a year,” says Samar. I think it will be essential to offer psychological help, because people in Gaza have experienced several attacks even before October 7 [2023].”

‍

Three possible class actions for “unreasonable” delays

Faced with what they call “unreasonable” deadlines, lawyers for the Gaza Family Reunification Project are trying to gather enough signatures from family members who feel aggrieved.

“We are asking the Federal Court to issue an order indicating that there was an unreasonable delay and to immediately issue unique reference codes,” the online document reads.

This type of request is a mandamus, a powerful form of legal remedy intended to force immigration authorities, for example, to correct their inaction or unjustified delays in an administrative process. In this case, if Immigration Canada is found to be at fault, a precise time line must be established according to which all responses related to visa applications must be provided.

‍

A call for a ceasefire heard in Ottawa

While the Jewish state is trying to annihilate Hamas — listed as a terrorist entity by Canada — and to have 130 Israeli hostages released, the international community is seeking to impose a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

On the Canadian side, on 18 March, Canadian parliamentarians voted 204 in favour and 118 against on a New Democratic Party (NDP) motion calling for an immediate ceasefire. The original, non-binding motion was amended by the liberals to remove, in particular, the recognition of a State of Palestine.

The motion also calls for the suspension of all arms trade with Israel and calls for “ensuring that Canadian citizens trapped in Gaza can find safety in Canada and [to] lift the arbitrary cap on 1,000 applications for temporary resident visas.”

A few days after our interview with Samar, and shortly before the vote on the NDP motion, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that he was going to change the family reunification program's cap of 1,000 visa applications. This change will allow more Gazans with families in Canada to apply under the program.. Despite this, Marc Miller also said that the motion adopted by the Canadian Parliament in favor of a ceasefire and the suspension of the export of weapons of war to Israel could complicate the exit of Gazaouis of the enclave.

‍

‍

For Samar, although it is late, it is really through political pressure that things can change for his people.

“Faced with the failure of politicians, it is the role of the people on the ground, of the people, to exert pressure. It is important to continue boycotting [companies that support Israel's military campaign], she strongly urges. We also need to demonstrate; it's important to continue to do it every weekend across the country, but I think we need more Sit-In in front of the offices of ministers and federal deputies. The space must be occupied until Canada supports a real ceasefire.”

Although she prays every day for it to be the last of this disaster, Samar also dreads the moment when the dust will settle. “As long as there is a genocide in progress, nothing, no psychological support will be able to help me.”

Because it is after the establishment of a permanent ceasefire that the full extent of the damage can be fully ascertained and that she will finally be able to begin to grieve for her daughter, for her Jana.

‍