Canadians turn to desperate measures to get family safely out of Gaza

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After months of waiting, Nasser Najjar lost faith in the Canadian government’s ability to evacuate his family from Gaza to safety in Egypt.

Najjar, who lives in Vancouver, is among a growing number of Palestinian Canadians who have turned, in desperation, to private travel companies charging exorbitant fees to get their relatives out of Gaza.

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In January, when the Canadian government introduced special measures for Palestinian Canadians and permanent residents to bring family members trapped in Gaza to Canada, Najjar applied to bring nine close members of his family, but none reached the approval stage.

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Applications were capped at 1,000, and the program has been widely criticized for its failure to bring a single applicant to Canada.

Those exiting without help from Canada may have more luck.

“I had to go to Plan B,” said Najjar.

He raised nearly US$30,000 to secure travel documents through a Cairo-based company, Hala, for family members to escape.

On Friday, he got the news: His parents, Khadijah and Mohammad, his sister, Razan, and her four cats, including one-eyed Bobo, successfully crossed the border into Egypt.

To get them out, Najjar liquidated all of his assets, took three jobs, borrowed money and fundraised in the community and on GoFundMe to come up with enough money to secure their passage, which was brokered by the private travel agency Hala.

Hala has operated as a “VIP” agency arranging passage for Palestinians in occupied Gaza, to Egypt through the Egypt-Palestine Rafah crossing. They came under scrutiny at the time for charging up to $1,200 a head to make exit arrangements. Prices have gone up ten-fold since the Israeli offensive began, and fluctuated with demand, according to news reports.

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“It’s not the best solution, but it was the only practical solution,” said Najjar.

Along with the uncertainty of sending cash to brokers in Egypt, he had another agonizing decision. He had to choose which family members to save.

Najjar chose his parents because of their age — his father is unwell — and his sister because she has no kids, and would be the best person to help the family should they make it to Canada.

“The day I sent the money I almost collapsed. I don’t know if I can trust this person and I gave them all my life savings. You question everything. ‘Did I make the right decision?’ ”

In early April, he received a receipt confirming that the money had been paid, and his family members would be allowed to leave. But he didn’t know when.

Every day he checked the Telegram app, to see whether their names were posted on the daily list at the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

Meanwhile, every day there are more bombs, more chaos, more death, more destruction, including an Israeli air strike just 30 metres from where his family was sheltering that killed family members Sabreen Sakani — who was 30 weeks pregnant  — her father and her three-year-old daughter.

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Wednesday, more bombs and a text from his sister Razan: 4 explosions near where we are staying (ceiling fell, the smoke choked us).

Finally, on Thursday at 11 p.m., he got the news: Their names were on the list to cross the border.

After an eight-hour wait on the Palestinian side, and a two-hour hold in Egypt while authorities checked their identities with Israeli authorities, he received word they were through.

He is relieved and grateful to the friends and strangers who helped him raise the funds.

“As a community we proved our humanity, and we were able to do what the Canadian government could not do,” said Najjar.

Although 986 applications have been “processed” under the Canadian government’s special program, said Matthew Krupovich, a spokesman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, none have been finalized and none have come to Canada. Krupovich cited difficulties in processing biometrics in Gaza and helping applicants leave the region.

However, as of April 22, 153 applicants have exited Gaza “without facilitation from Canada,” said Krupovich. These applicants will be issued a TRV (temporary resident visa) and be able to come to travel to Canada “at their discretion,” he said.

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That’s what Najjar plans to do, once his family is safely settled in Cairo.

He’s also planning to help buy passage for his remaining family members, including his sister Lina, a doctor, and his 11-year-old niece Judy. He fears for their safety: “If something happens now, while we wait … it would be devastating.”

dryan@postmedia.com

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