"Mona Alatbash gathers her children and husband, each of them either carrying a chair or a flashlight, and treks to a nearby building her phone signal there is stronger than the tent in the Khan Younis displacement camp where the family shelters. On this recent night in southern Gaza, they find a dark corner and place the plastic chairs side by side. The phone rings. The video call from her sister Eman in Cobourg, Ont., lights Mona's face."
"Since the start of the war two years ago, 880 people out of 5,000 applicants have come to Canada through the program, with Ottawa citing security checks as being behind the delays. In January 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched the program for extended families of Canadians and permanent residents in Gaza. Some families have resorted to bribes to get their loved ones to neighbouring countries while dealing with stalled applications for their Canadian visas."
A displaced Palestinian family in Khan Younis travels to a nearby building each night for a stronger phone signal to call relatives in Canada. The family applied to Canada's special measures program for extended family of Palestinian Canadians but has received no decision nearly two years later. Since the war began, 880 of 5,000 applicants have been admitted under the program, and authorities cite security checks for delays. Some applicants have paid smugglers or bribes to move relatives to neighbouring countries while awaiting stalled Canadian visa approvals. One applicant paid $5,000 per person to move some relatives out of Gaza.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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