Photo credit: Aljazeera
Advocates have called on Canada to apply more pressure on Israel to get Palestinians approved for visas out of the Gaza Strip.
Aljazeera reports that Palestinian Canadians have renewed their calls for Canada to take concrete action to get back their loved ones out of the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s unrelenting bombardment, slamming a temporary Gaza visa scheme launched earlier this year as a failure.
Omar Omar, a representative of the advocacy group Gazan Families, said on Tuesday that he has been trying to get his relatives out of Gaza for months. He said: “It’s been over a year now, and I’m still asking my family – stranded in Gaza, under continuous threat of losing their lives at any moment – be treated with the same urgency, the same humanity, that Canada extended to others.
“This long fight, this exhausting advocacy, has drained our resources and everything we have. We have lost so much back in Gaza, and here in Canada, this struggle is tearing apart the lives we have tried to build.”
The special Gaza visa program was launched by the Canadian government earlier this year to allow Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply to bring extended family members from Gaza to the country.
however, from the start, the families and immigration lawyers said the process was confusing and included invasive questions that went beyond what is typically required, including detailed work histories and any scars or injuries that required medical attention.
They also accused the government of imposing stricter requirements on Palestinians than on other people who have sought temporary visas in recent years, such as Ukrainians.
Canada approved over 960,000 visas for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion of their country, nearly 300,000 people have arrived over a two-year span.
In contrast, the Gaza visa program was capped at 5,000 visas.
Al Jazeera was told by Canada’s immigration department last month that as of October 5, only 733 applications from Palestinians “who exited Gaza on their own,” had been approved.
By that same date, only 334 Palestinians had arrived in the country, according to the department. It did not specify why the others had not yet landed in Canada.
A spokesman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told Al Jazeera that, “The primary challenge continues to be the ability for people to exit, as movement out of Gaza remains extremely difficult or impossible due to various factors outside of Canada’s control.
“Canada will continue working closely with local authorities – at every level – to facilitate the exit of extended family members and to advocate for their safety.”
However, rights advocates have said the Canadian government should apply more pressure on Israel to allow Palestinians approved to come to Canada under the visa program to leave the country.
Alex Paterson of the advocacy group Canadians for justice and Peace in the middle East said, “If this government was serious about saving Palestinians, Israel would face serious consequences for preventing their exit from Gaza.”
David Matsinhe, director of research, policy and advocacy at Amnesty International Canada issued a list of demands for Canada to bolster the Gaza visa sheme, including removing the cap on the number of applicants and increasing diplomatic pressure on Israel and Egypt to facilitate the exit of Palestinians.
