This is a heartbreaking story of two families forcibly separated by bureaucratic stupidity as they seek to escape a genocide.

On April 2, 2025, Zahed, 14, Abdalrahman, 12, and Joury, 7, faced the worst nightmare any child could face: they could leave the Gaza killing zone and come to Canada, but only if their mom, Doaa Z M Nashwan, stayed behind. Because of a heartless paperwork technicality that violates Canada’s own Temporary Residence Visa program, when the kids and their Dad, Qasem Alyazji, were evacuated to Canada, Doaa was forced to stay behind.

Canada must stop playing Russian Roulette with the lives of Palestinians eligible to come to Canada and immediately evacuate Doaa as well as other families who have been cruelly separated as bombs and starvation face them down. Among those other families are Nariman and her three oldest children, whose story is also below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doaa and her daughter Joury

“We never imagined what would happen,” says the father, Qasem, an engineer by profession, who lived with the family in the now obliterated Gaza City. Before the genocide Zahed wanted to be an engineer and was always taking radios apart to reassemble them. Abdulrahman wanted to be a pilot, and Joury wanted to be a doctor. But now their dreams are all on hold.

“When the violence and war began in Gaza, our dreams were shattered, and we lost everything. Houses were bombed and burned randomly. They fired randomly. We fled with nothing but the clothes on our backs. We hid in refugee schools and moved from one shelter to another, hoping to survive, even if just for one night. We saw what no one should ever see.  We lost our families, some of whom we couldn't even bury. I was also injured in my right foot and left arm during that war, and I still suffer the effects of this injury. I wished for all of us to survive this hell.”

When the family received an email from the Canadian Embassy in Amman, Jordan alerting them to the possible evacuation via the Kerem Shalom crossing, “my wife, children, and I were the happiest we'd ever been during the past 15 months of destruction, bloodshed, bombs, and missiles. We forgot about the tragedy we'd experienced, completely immersed in the moment... that we, as a family, had a chance to live... to go to a safe place. That is, until we paid close attention to the email we received and realized that my wife's name was not among the family names listed in the email from the Canadian Embassy in Amman, Jordan. At that moment, we froze, not knowing what to feel or do.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These children need their mother to join them in Canada

The reason for excluding Doaa was not only cruel and heartless (it was impossible for her to complete a fingerprint and facial scan, or biometrics); it violates the Canada Gaza Visa program, whose own website notes: "Given the situation we understand that you won’t be able to give your biometrics or complete a full admissibility check until you’ve left Gaza. If your application passes a preliminary eligibility and admissibility assessment we’ll forward your name to the local authorities to facilitate your exit from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.” (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/israel-west-bank-gaza-2023/gaza-tr-measures/after.html#s1  

According to Doaa’s online tracker status, a marriage certificate was submitted along with travel documents on March 23, 2024, and Background Verification was completed on August 28, 2024. Such punishingly slow timelines are a failing hallmark of this program. Under the Gaza visa program, upon completion of background verification completion, the loved ones of Canadian Palestinians can exit with the understanding that those who have yet to do their biometrics can complete them in Egypt or Jordan. Qasem had prior biometrics from an earlier visa application, but in any event, it should not matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doaa's 3 children survived 18 months of horror, only to be forcibly separated from their mom when they evacuated to Canada

Canada is condemning to death people like Doaa who are unable to provide what the government has already acknowledged since day one was something they could not provide from within Gaza. When Canada keeps moving the goalposts, what are families seeking to escape a genocide to do?  

The family were devastated. As Qasem recalls, “We thought we'd all survived a 15-month war and the missiles falling from all directions.  At this point, my children began to cry, completely ignored the emails, and didn't want to leave the warm embrace of their mother and be away from her. While we took time to process the reality, my wife and I sat down and made one of the most difficult decisions of our lives: to leave her alone to face her fate and protect our children by traveling with me for their safety. This meant forcibly separating her from her children for their safety and psychological well-being, as there was unfortunately no opportunity for her to travel. This decision meant leaving my wife behind in a place with no proper living conditions. At the time, my children couldn't accept the idea of traveling without their mother. However, for their own survival, this was their only chance for life.”

Such a Sophie’s Choice should never be imposed on any family. “The day I was forced to travel, the children were put in the worst possible situation any child could ever face: being separated from their mother,” Qasem told the Rural Refugee Rights Network. “Given the fact that they lived through this war from the very beginning, as children, it is their right to continue their lives with their families. We will never forget the moment we said goodbye to my wife and the mother of my children, as it may be our last goodbye as the situation in the Gaza Strip continues to escalate in the worst possible way. As a father and a mother, I believe that any other family would have made the decision we were unfortunately forced to make, as it is the only decision we have to hope for in order to preserve our children's lives.”

Qasem says his children cannot sleep for fear of what may befall their mother. Already traumatized by what they have endured, it is impossible for them in this cruel limbo to start a new life, in a new environment, and to begin to live a life that suits their childhood. 

“My children will remain physically present in Canada, but they are mentally unable to continue due to the fact that their mother is not physically close to them,” says Qasem, who is asking the Canadian government “will look with mercy on me and my children and bring us together on its soil. I write these words with the hope that my wife is still alive.”

A Pattern of Bureaucratic Insensitivity

This is not the only family to be cruelly separated. According to Eid Ahmed Abu Amra, a father of six and school secretary who was evacuated April 4 with only three of his daughters, forced to leave behind his three older children and his wife, Nariman, “After more than a year and a half of this fierce war, the Canadian government decided to put me between two fires: either I either survive with half of my family or we all die in Gaza. This was a fateful decision and not an easy one. My family and I met, and after bitter crying, we made the decision to agree to this unjust decision so that I could be evacuated with my 3 daughters, the oldest of whom is 15 and 13 years old, and the youngest of whom is 7 years old. The ones who will suffer the pain of separation and the horrors of war are my wife and my three oldest children (Mohammed, Manar, and Ahmed).”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eid Ahmed Abu Amra and his wife, Nariman, have 4 daughters, but only three were allowed to come to Canada with their father, Nariman and her three older children must also be evacuated immediately.

He recalls that before the genocide, "we lived a life full of joy. We were eagerly awaiting this year, because my eldest son, Mohammed, was going to finish high school and enter the university he had always awaited. He dreamed of becoming a doctor because he was one of the top students, but the war destroyed his dream. He was born in 2006 and has yet to receive his high school diploma. My eldest daughter, Manar, who came a year after him, also finished high school. She also dreamed of becoming a nurse because she was no less accomplished than her brother Mohammed. My son, Ahmed, was waiting to finish middle school with distinction, as he had been planning to become a teacher.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nariman and her three oldest children were forced to stay behind, even as father and three younger sisters were allowed to leave. This is heartless, forcible family separation. 

Their experience at the border was also traumatic. "When we left Gaza with UNICEF, we had 3 suitcases of clothes and travel supplies, based on contact from the Canadian embassy in Jordan. However, when we arrived at the Kerem Shalom crossing, the army gave us a choice: either return with the suitcases or enter with only the clothes you are wearing and your identification papers. Because I wanted to save my children, I chose to leave the suitcases and our supplies behind to escape certain death that was behind us. I thank those in charge of the work at the Canadian embassy in Jordan for their kind reception. They prepared the travel papers and did not leave us until at the airport to head to Canada. I am full of hope to work on bringing the rest of my family to extinguish the fire that still burns inside me and the family is reunited."

 

As we demand immediate evacuation of Doaa, Nariman and other forcibly separated family members, we are also demanding:

Immediate processing of all remaining 3500 Visa applications using Ukraine-level screening turnarounds of 14 days (and not, as in the case of Doaa and her family, 13 months. In the first year of the Ukraine program, Canada processed 1,400 applications a day and welcomed 130,000. In the Gaza program, they have only done 2 applications per day, and hundreds have been killed waiting for approval as fewer than 1,000 have made it here. During that same time period, Canada approved over 8,000 visa for Israeli citizens. 
 

Canada must negotiate with Israel to allow for the immediate evacuation of all remaining applicants in Gaza. Other countries have been able to do this. Why not Canada?

Canada must charter flights to bring the 700 exiled family members languishing for over a year in Cairo to be reunited with their families here, and prepare flights for the remaining applicants.

Canada must issue specific instructions to end the racist harassment Canadian Border Services Agency officers are inflicting on traumatized genocide survivors when they get here. 

Canada must work with the provinces to end the confusion it has created with its patchwork program so that everyone arriving can work, go to school, and receive health care.

Reunite these desperate families with their loved ones.