Palestinian-Canadians decide which family members in Gaza to bring to Canada — and who to leave behind

A maximum of 1,000 Palestinian-Canadian citizens will soon be able to apply to bring their relatives living in the Gaza strip to Canada on a temporary visa.

Families in Halifax are calling for the cap to be removed.

The special extended family program comes after Palestinian-Canadians pleaded for months for help from the government to rescue family members caught in the violence in the Gaza strip.

Ibrahim Manna is among many Palestinian-Canadians who frequently reached out to all-levels of government since the conflict erupted on October 7.

The announcement, though initially met with a sigh of relief by families like Ibrahim Manna, has given way to both anxiety and hope.

“Ever since the news came out, we’ve been collecting every piece of paper, every documentation that we got,” he said.

Manna said as many as 350 of his relatives eligible to come to Canada. However, being accepted is a lottery.

“We got more than a 1,000 families here just in Nova Scotia. What about the rest of the provinces?” said Manna.

DECIDING WHO TO LEAVE BEHIND

He said his family has to make the difficult decision of whose applications to submit and who to leave behind.

“We have the application ready. We could bring my grandmother and my uncles, but then the other thing is — are they going to leave their kids or grandchildren behind?”

The program, set to launch next week, allows the 1,000 Palestinians to take refuge in Canada for three years, if their families are willing to financially support them during that time.

While Manna is fortunate and can support his family, others may not be able to, he said.

Ibrahim Manna's grandmother is pictured here.

“They want all the families here to be financially stable to support them, which is very hard in Canada right now,” he said. “It’s going to be hard for many families to be able to do that but it’s either you can support them or leave them for death.”

Since October 7, Manna and his family were glued to their phones, trying to remain in contact with their families or watching the news for updates.

“It’s very stressful. When they’re telling you that they have to walk kilometers to even find a small bottle of water that everyone drinks from,” he said.

‘A SINGLE SPOONFUL AS A MEAL FOR THE DAY’

“Even a can of beans — my family is sharing a single spoonful as a meal for the day. If they’re not dead from the bombing, they’re dying hungry.”

Manna is not alone.

Tarek Ajjour has tried remaining in contact with his family in Gaza. Since the war began, he was able to maintain contact with his cousins, but just days ago, one stopped responding.

“He kept asking me if there was anything I could do to get him out of there. I wish I had the power to do anything, but I can’t,” he said tearfully.

Two fo Tarek Ajjour's cousins are pictured here.

Ajjour is also among thousands navigating the process to get his cousins here. But, he fears his cousins will not qualify because they are not considered immediate family.

“The details of the program is worse,” said Ajjour.

He said there are vast differences in similar programs like this that were introduced during the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Sudan, and Ukraine.

“I have five family members coming in from Gaza. I have to take care of the medical fees, childcare and everything. I sponsored Syrian refugees and everything was covered up to recreation, going into Canada Game Center and taking a membership,” said Ajjour.

“We’re looking at a genocide happening. Over 23,000 people died so far.”

ADVOCATES CONCERNED WITH CANADA’S ROLE

Advocates are concerned with Israel’s government displacing people living in Gaza and the part Canada will play.

Some Israeli officials have repeatedly suggested that Canada take in more Palestinians. Israel’s Finance Minister said his country should encourage migration of Palestinians from Gaza and re-establish Israeli settlement there.

“We should not be supporting the illegal displacement of Palestinians from their land. We didn’t act enough when we could see what was happening and the illegal war crimes and displacement of Palestinians was taking place,” said community advocate Rana Zaman.

Rana Zaman, community advocate, is pictured here.

Zaman said she has worked with several refugees over the years. It takes several years before people can return to their countries, she said.

“How many war-torn places have gone back to normal, where refugees can return safely back home? It takes decades, and by that time new generations have been born and raised in their displaced countries. And now that country is their home, so in essence they have lost that connection to roots that they had to their countries.”

She said Canada needs to step up and stop this war from continuing to prevent mass displacement.

“They need to change the policies and implement the laws that they declare they uphold which is human rights and allow the Palestinians to live a life of dignity and peace in their own land.”

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