Months after the federal government introduced a new visa program to help Palestinians in Gaza with family in Canada, Rami Aljadba from Cambridge, Ont., is finally expecting some of his relatives to arrive.
Aljadba said the process was far from simple. Some close family members left Gaza back in February on their own because the Canadian visa program had only started about a month before.
“We want stability for the family,” he told Cambridge Chronicle. “We want to get them here, we want to get them into a more stable place where the kids can go on with their normal lives, with school, with health care, all these kind of things.”
He mentioned it cost quite a bit to hire an agency to help get them out and expressed his frustration over how slow and complicated the visa system has been, especially getting his family across Gaza’s border.
His sister and her family got their visas two months later, on April 7, while they were in Egypt. Aljadba now expects them and his father-who already had a visa-to arrive in Canada within weeks.
Meanwhile, his brother and his family are stuck in Belgium waiting for their visas but have received a special code that’s part of phase two out of three in the visa application process.
“The [Canadian government] might have some good intentions going into the program but it was handled in a very, very bad way,” Aljadba said.
At a February press conference, Immigration Minister Marc Miller admitted that “people have actually been able to get through the border, I suspect, at great financial cost.”
“It’s very frustrating to me,” Miller said about how things turned out. “I don’t want to put together a program that is failing but we are all failing Gazans at this point and I think that is something that we need to realize.”
‘We are all failing Gazans’: Marc Miller
Immigration Minister Marc Miller was asked Thursday about efforts helping people with relatives in Canada escape Gaza; he described it as ‘probably the largest hostage-taking right now in the world.’
In late February via email, Jeffrey Mac Donald from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said “as of Feb. 26, 2024, 12 people who left Gaza on their own and had [temporary resident visa] applications pending were able to submit biometrics and complete their applications; they’ve been approved to come here.”
“Leaving Gaza remains extremely tough since each country sets its own rules for entry and exit,” Mac Donald added.
Cambridge Chronicle reached out to IRCC for updated numbers but didn’t hear back before publishing.
Aljadba explained that his sister-in-law’s family also escaped independently from Gaza into Egypt early March; they’ve gotten codes but are still waiting on visas.
His wife’s parents plus two brothers-in-law remain inside Gaza with codes too. The family is trying to figure out how best to get them out.
“Do we wait around hoping [the Canadian government] can get them out or do we pay again ourselves?” Aljadba said. “That’s where we’re at.”
April marks six months since the Israel-Hamas war began following Hamas’ deadly attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.Media reports say more than 1,200 Israelis died that day and 253 were taken captive by Hamas into Gaza according to Israeli officials; roughly 130 remain held hostage by Hamas.Over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed by retaliatory strikes – many women and children among them – while over 80% of Gazans have been displaced due to fighting.Aljadba says he feels ‘more content’ now that most immediate family made it out of Gaza safely. (Carmen Groleau/CBC)
Food Shortages Up North
Aljadba shared he’s feeling somewhat “more content” since some relatives escaped Gaza safely so he isn’t waking up worried every morning checking if anyone was hurt or bombed-but many others including his wife’s parents still live deep inside Gaza along with extended family up north too.
Up north especially it’s almost like famine there-some folks resorted even eating animal feed but now even that’s gone completely scarce.
“The whole thing is still going on,” Aljadba explained. “It brings all kinds of mixed feelings like anger combined with sadness or hopelessness.”
He mentioned air-dropped food has helped somewhat though aid trucks less so-but getting food outside comes at serious risk: one cousin broke his leg scavenging for food while another cousin was shot dead.
Family living toward central areas seem able access food easier than those up north but prices there are sky-high.
“We send money from here,” Aljadba said. “Things cost way too much over there-a hundred bucks doesn’t cover much.
“Like … you’d pay three dollars just for one egg. It’s crazy.”
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