Abeer Abusharar (center) spent months trying to get her brother Oun, his wife Haneen and their son Sanad out of Gaza through Canada's special visa program from extended family. They landed in Montreal on May 6 after evacuating Gaza by paying a $15,000 bribe.
In January, Abeer Abusharar applied for her parents, siblings, sisters-in-law and kids to evacuate Gaza through the extended family visa program. Five months later, only one brother and his family have made it to Canada.Abeer Abusharar spent months trying to get her brother Oun, his wife Haneen and their son Sanad out of Gaza through Canada's special visa program from extended family. They landed in Montreal on May 6 after evacuating Gaza by paying a $15,000 bribe.
Oun, his wife and son were approved for visas to Canada under the extended family visa program launched by Immigration Minister Marc Miller in January. They landed in the Montreal airport on May 6. But his department says that as of this week, just 41 people have made it to Canada under the program. The department says 254 applicants have received their temporary residence visas and almost 3,000 applications have been accepted for processing.
"You just think of how he is going to survive," Haneen said, recalling her first months as a new mother — in a small, dark room crowded with people, with no electricity.In the end, money is what got them out of Gaza. Oun said he, his wife and six-month-old baby had to pay roughly $15,000 Cdn in fees — essentially bribes — to border officials to pass through the Rafah crossing into Egypt. His family in Canada helped to cover the cost through an online GoFundMe campaign.
"We lost everything, our homes, our jobs, everything," Muhammad later told a freelance videographer working with the CBC. "Gaza is a place not for living anymore … I hope they can help us evacuate soon."
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