“It’s been a black hole.”
Mohamed’s sister and her family, seven people in total, are currently living inside a barbershop in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israel’s massive attack continues to destroy lives and infrastructure.
There is no bathroom at the barbershop, and among the people living there are children. Mohamed, a truck driver from Calgary, is desperate to hear information from the Canadian government about when, or if, his relatives will be able to come to Canada.
He told The Maple that he applied to sponsor his sister and her family to come to Canada under a temporary resident visa program for extended family members in Gaza.
The Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the program on January 9, and Mohamed said he filed his application on January 15. He has so far heard nothing.
As of March 4, a total of just 12 individuals from Gaza have been approved to come to Canada. They left Gaza “on their own,” according to the ministry, and were able to complete their applications and submit biometrics. The 12 individuals have to arrange their own passage to Canada, and none have yet arrived.
When the temporary resident visa program was launched, it was accused by some immigration lawyers of imposing “onerous and unfair” requirements on applicants.
Since the program was announced, Israel’s attack killed at least 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, bringing the total death toll since Israel started its campaign last October to over 31,000.
Israel is accused of committing a genocide in Gaza, with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finding in January that South Africa’s case accusing Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention was “plausible.”
While that case awaits a final verdict, Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure a growing humanitarian catastrophe. (more...)
Trudeau Government Leaves Desperate Palestinian Families In Dangerous Limbo
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There is no place for the Palestinians of Gaza to go
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