Residents in Waterloo region struggle to bring family to Canada as war in Sudan intensifies
Kitchener woman says it will take years to bring her family to Waterloo region
Mrwa Abbas from Kitchener, Ont., is trying desperately to bring her family to safety.
Her aunt and cousin are fleeing the war in Sudan. They've found temporary refuge in Egypt but they will need to leave soon.
Abbas has been trying to bring them to Canada to live with her through the temporary immigration pathway created for people directly affected by the conflict in Sudan. When she reached out to the Canadian government for an update on her application in late August, they told her it would take at least 42 months to approve her family's permanent residency status.
It's time Abbas says her family simply doesn't have.
"They could run out of money ... they could run out of food, they could run out of water," she said, adding that once their temporary visas expire in Egypt, her family will be forced to head back to Sudan where they're in danger of being killed.
The war in Sudan began on Apr. 15, 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the capital of Khartoum, then spread throughout the country.
The UN says nearly 20,000 people have died as a direct result of the violence, but other estimates suggest as many as 150,000 people may have been killed. Humanitarian agencies are demanding urgent action to prevent the mass starvation of an estimated 25.6 million people. Attempts at securing a peace deal have failed to make any progress.
Abbas says her family needs urgent help to escape the turmoil in Sudan — and she wishes there were pathways to bring them to safety more quickly.
"[Waiting for] permanent residency does slow down that process. I feel like there just needs to be more focus on getting people to safety," she said.
"But no one seems to care, and that's just what it is."
Urgent need for food, money
El Bagir Abdulkarim is the president of the Sudanese Canadian Association of Waterloo Wellington, an organization that represents almost 1,500 people living in Waterloo region and in surrounding areas.
He says he's heard distressing stories from members of the Sudanese community in Waterloo region.
"All the community here has someone who has family member or members displaced due to the war," he said, adding that many family members have either gone missing or been murdered.
"The crisis is increasing. More people are trying to get out from their homes to seek a safe place. They can't work ... so now people are in hunger, so they need humanitarian aid."
He's encouraging regional residents to contribute to national fundraisers and support organizations currently sending much needed aid to the people who are still in Sudan.
Applications prioritized
Back in February, the federal government opened a new immigration pathway for people caught in the conflict in Sudan who have extended family who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
The program had a cap 3,250 applications and, as of May, that number was reached and no new applications are being accepted.
Since May, more than 2,600 people from Sudan have been approved to come to Canada outside of the new humanitarian pathway.
WATCH | Canada opens immigration pathway for Sudanese fleeing war:
"Approximately 1,100 people from Sudan have been approved to come to Canada as permanent residents through priority processing, of those approximately 870 have landed. Approximately 1,590 people from Sudan have been approved to come to Canada as temporary residents through priority processing of our existing inventory," a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in an emailed statement to CBC.
Canada has also waived fees for travel documents for family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and anyone who arrived before July 15 were able to apply for an open work permit or study permit free of cost.
"They are also able to submit a fee-exempt application for permanent residence under the Family Class and have their applications prioritized," the email said.
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