On Friday morning, Ahmad Abualjedian, a visually impaired Canadian permanent resident, stood in the arrivals area of Pearson International Airport with a bouquet of flowers clutched to his chest and a Canadian flag poking out of the foliage. On October 23, he was able to hold his daughter, who was born in the waiting room of a hospital in Gaza, in his arms for the first time.
Ahmad Abualjedian of Brantford, Ont., has spent the last few weeks checking on his wife and daughter. They were in the town of Jabalia, in a hospital without electricity and where it was impossible to get anesthesia.
Because communications were cut off in the besieged area, he was unable to make contact with them for several days.
Now, he says, the whole family finally feels some relief. I don’t know what to say, but I finally made my dream come true.
No help from Canada
Mr. Abualjedian claims he received information that Global Affairs Canada was unable to help his family. However, his wife and their baby, named Sila, were eventually taken to the Canadian embassy in Cairo, Egypt, before boarding a flight to Toronto.
Yara and Sila are among the Canadians and family members who have been able to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
Looking for a job
Despite the pain the fighting has inflicted on thousands of families, including Ahmad’s – he lost a sister and cousins - he now says he wants to focus on happiness. We need to be positive and look not to the past but to the future, he adds. We will begin building our future in Canada.
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The couple’s friends brought some things for the baby.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Carlos Osorio
Yara received a temporary residence visa. To help them and Sila build their lives here, Ahmad looks for a job to support them, but according to his friends at the airport, this is proving difficult due to his poor eyesight.
Through her husband, who acted as a translator, Yara says the feeling of being in Canada is indescribable. “I dreamed of being with my husband,” she says. And wants to help him as a blind man.
Escape from one place to another
Yara describes the terror that reigns in Gaza during the Israeli bombing. She was worried about her life, worried about the birth and then about her daughter. “We were running, running from place to place to be safe,” said Ahmad Abualjedian, translating Yara.
While in Gaza, she stayed in the Jabalia refugee camp, which was bombed on October 31. In an AFP video, at least 47 bodies wrapped in shrouds can be counted lying on the ground in a hospital courtyard after being recovered from the rubble.
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The family was supported in their efforts by Federal MP Larry Brock.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Carlos Osorio
After Yara and Sila arrive, one of the first things to do is to see a doctor. Sana Qasem, one of Ahmad’s friends who helped ensure the family had everything a newborn needs, adds that Yara was forced to give birth in an unhygienic environment without clean water.
Sana Qasem arrived at the airport with bags full of supplies: diapers, winter coats, diapers, wipes and a white teddy bear. At Ahmad and Yara’s house, she set up a cot and piled up baby clothes.
“I even cleaned her house to make sure she didn’t have to worry about anything when she arrived,” she describes.
Canada is my country
Despite the difficulties with Global Affairs, Ahmad said the experience filled him with gratitude towards the country where he has lived since 2018. I would say that Canada is my country, he emphasizes.
He attributes the success of the evacuation in part to his Conservative Party MP Larry Brock, who held Sila in his arms on Friday while Yara and Ahmad kissed. What initially seemed like a nightmare became a dream come true, Brock says.
Although Ahmad and Yara’s story has a positive ending, Mr. Brock points out that for many Canadians who still hope to escape Gaza, the process will be decided on a case-by-case basis. “I know that efforts are being made to ensure that all foreign nationals can safely leave Gaza and return to their countries of origin,” he added.
With reporting by CBC’s Lane Harrison