Her parents, siblings and baby nephew are trapped in Gaza. Canada doesn't consider them 'immediate family'

As It Happens11:05Her parents, siblings and baby nephew are trapped in Gaza. Canada doesn't consider them 'immediate family'

The last time Israa Alsaafin heard from her family in Gaza, she could hear explosions in the background. 

Alsaafin lives in Ottawa with her husband and two young sons. But her parents, siblings, in-laws and 10-month-old nephew are trapped in the Gaza Strip as bombs rain down, and food and shelter run out. Her sister, Arwa, sent her a voice memo on Tuesday, crying and begging for help.

"The only thing she was saying at the end [was], 'It's really bad. It's really, really bad. Please get us out of here,'" Alsaafin told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "I did not know what to tell her."

The Canadian government is working to get Canadians and their immediate family members out of Gaza. Alsaafin is a Canadian citizen, but her relatives don't meet the criteria. 

According to Global Affairs Canada, the only people eligible for emergency evacuation are spouses, common-law partners or children under 22 of Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

It's a definition that Alsaafin finds baffling. 

"I can't imagine that anyone in the world will be fine living normally while his parents and his siblings are just living in this situation," she said. 

Canada being 'as flexible as possible': Marc Miller

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada would not comment on Alsaafin's case, but said it "remains deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza and empathizes with those affected."

"When responding to international crises, Canada tailors each response to meet the unique needs of those who require support while reflecting the realities of the situation on the ground," IRCC spokesperson Matthew Krupovich said in an emailed statement.

The NDP is calling on the federal government to expand its definition of immediate family for Palestinians, and create special immigration measures to get more people safely out of Gaza and reunited with their loved ones in Canada. 

"Time is of the essence. As we speak, people's lives are in jeopardy and we need the government to take action," NDP MP Jenny Kwan said during a Monday press conference, which also included an impassioned plea from Alsaafin.

Asked by reporters Tuesday whether Canada would consider expanding its eligibility criteria, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said: "We have tried our utmost, whenever there's a configuration of a family unit that doesn't fall within our current definitions, to be as flexible as possible to try and get people out."

But Alsaafin says she hasn't seen any of that flexibility — just a form letter from the government explaining that her family weren't eligible.

Feeling abandoned

Kwan says Canada has previously made exceptions to its immigration policy while taking in refugees fleeing the war in Syria or the invasion of Ukraine.

In the latter case, Canada has allowed Ukrainians with family members in Canada — including parents, children, grandparents and siblings — to apply for permanent residency.

Alsaafin says she was fully supportive of special measures for Ukrainians. And when Canada brought in more than 44,000 Syrians, she volunteered to help translate, drive people to appointments and more.

"Why? Because I believe that this country is the country to help people," she said. 

But now that it's Palestinians who are in need, she says she feels abandoned. 

"Some of the people that were asking for the Ukrainian people to be evacuated are now telling me that I should not ask [for] this, and 'You and your family are a bunch of terrorists,' and 'We don't want Gaza people to come to Canada because they're dangerous,'" she said. 

She says she's lived in Canada since 2012. Her Canadian sons, aged seven and 10, are struggling to understand what's happening in Gaza.

"I worked hard. I am paying my tax as everybody else. I'm a skilled worker. I'm raising my kids to be the perfect Canadians for this country. How, now, I am treated this way?"

Meanwhile, she says her family is sleeping in a factory storage room in Gaza with 50 other families because the United Nations shelters are full. 

They are among 1.9 million people — 85 per cent of the population — who have been displaced in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, according to the UN.

On Oct. 7, Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people taking 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government. In response, Israel enacted a siege and bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza, killing 15,890 Palestinians, according to Gazan health authorities. 

Among them, Alsaafin says, is her brother, Ahmed — her baby nephew's father. He was killed, she says, in an Israel airstrike in October while attempting to flee to safer ground. 

Now she spends her time wondering whether her other relatives will be next.

"I have to wait patiently here, counting the second by second and wondering: Are they safe? Is the bombing happening right now around them? Is it far? Is it close? All of that," she said.

"It just doesn't make sense to me right now. What makes sense to me right now is those civilians, these innocent people, they need to be saved. They need to have the basic minimum rights that any human being in this world will have."