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Family split between White Rock, Syria highlights 91Ƶcrack91Ƶ in refugee reunification process

91ƵNo light in sight91Ƶ as Hanadi Albarazanji waits to reunite with her two adult children
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This 2015 photo was one of the last taken of Hanadi Albarazanji with her entire family: husband, Emad; daughters Yaman and Juman; and son, Kenan. (Contributed photo)

All Hanadi Albarazanji wants is to reunite her family.

The White Rock resident last saw two of her three children in person five years ago, just before she fled war-torn Syria with her youngest daughter, Juman, to start a new life in Canada.

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The family didn91Ƶt have enough money for everyone to leave together, and as they were already adults, the older siblings 91Ƶ son Kenan, now 27, and daughter Yaman, 24 91Ƶ also didn91Ƶt qualify as dependents under the same immigration application, she said.

But arriving here, Albarazanji, who was sponsored by her aunt, had hoped their steps to a fresh start would be similar to her own: a sponsor would be found and the process of relocating would unfold.

However, while her husband Emad was able to join her and their daughter in Canada, 91Ƶdramatic91Ƶ changes 91Ƶ including the closure of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan borders to Syrians, and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) no longer automatically issuing refugee status to Syrians if they are able to leave 91Ƶ not to mention pandemic-related delays 91Ƶ have left Albarazanji wondering if she91Ƶll ever see her eldest children face-to-face again.

91ƵMy kids are essentially stuck in Syria and we have little to no chance of having our family be together in the foreseeable future,91Ƶ Albarazanji said.

91ƵWhen I see people talking (about) how much they are sad because the holidays and 91Ƶ Christmas and they can91Ƶt be together (because of the pandemic)91Ƶ I feel like maybe next year you will meet them. But I can91Ƶt.

91ƵI91Ƶm very scared that I91Ƶll die and I won91Ƶt see them.91Ƶ

Immigration consultant Amr Shehata said Albarazanji91Ƶs situation highlights a crack in the 91Ƶone-year window application91Ƶ process through which newly landed refugees can reunite with their immediate family members who are not yet in Canada: it only applies to spouses and dependent children.

On top of that, a refugee is defined as someone who has left their home country out of fear and availed themselves of the protection of the Canadian government, Shehata said.

91ƵWhich means they cannot go back to their home country while that regime is still there,91Ƶ he continued. 91ƵAt the same time, these two members of the family91Ƶ are in Syria. They fall within that crack of one-year window, into nowhere.91Ƶ

Kenan and Yaman also cannot be privately sponsored as refugees because they are still in Syria, he said 91Ƶ a problem that is difficult to rectify with borders of the tangent countries closed.

91ƵThe only other place is Iraq,91Ƶ Shehata said. 91ƵSo it will be91Ƶ into the fire if you went from Syria to Iraq. Doesn91Ƶt really make any sense.91Ƶ

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Albarazanji, who was raised in the United Arab Emirates, said she is becoming increasingly distressed by the situation. Since arriving in Canada, she has 91Ƶjoined all the opportunities I had91Ƶ in an effort to become part of the community, even volunteering with the non-profit MOSAIC organization. It was all 91Ƶto have a good life with my kids,91Ƶ she said.

91ƵNow, everything I91Ƶve done, I feel it is worthless. I can91Ƶt get my kids here, and they are very good kids. I know they will be a good fit here in Canada.91Ƶ

Albarazanji worries her humanitarian and compassion application could take 91Ƶanother four or five years, if it works,91Ƶ and Shehata confirmed there are no guarantees.

91ƵIt91Ƶs totally discretionary, the officer may accept, may not accept,91Ƶ he said.

He noted that Canada has created temporary policies in the past to assist immigrants in reuniting with their families, and pointed to government91Ƶs Caring for Children Program 91Ƶ which ended in June 2019 91Ƶ as one example. It created a pathway to permanent residence for women who came from a visa-required country for home-care work, he said.

91ƵA lot of people in the profession knew the stress and the struggle that these ladies had,91Ƶ Shehata said. 91ƵThey left their home, they left their kids and they came to Canada to take care of our kids, and after that, there was no clear hope for them.

91ƵBut now, there is kind of a policy, a kind of program that allowing even if you didn91Ƶt disclose a family member, you can disclose them now and they can still be sponsored.

91ƵThere are similar cases where the government was responsive and supportive, let91Ƶs put it like that.

91ƵMaybe Hanadi is one example, but I bet there are thousands of these families 91Ƶ a mother that really cannot do anything for their kids.91Ƶ

If the government did do something similar to the Caring for Children Program, 91Ƶthis would be a new community,91Ƶ he said.

Stories like Albarazanji91Ƶs are heartbreaking, he added.

91ƵShe has been waiting for a long time. Most painful part, she doesn91Ƶt know for how long she should be waiting, and even if she waited for that time, what would happen next.

91ƵShe cannot see a light by the end of the tunnel, as simple as that.91Ƶ



tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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