‘It could collapse at any time’: earthquake survivors desperate to leave Syria and rejoin their families in Calgary

Maha Gharib has not seen her family since she left Syria for Calgary seven years ago.

Her parents and sisters survived the earthquake that struck the country last month, but their home was damaged.

The engineers estimate that it could collapse at any time, so you can’t imagine how scared and worried they were all the time. “My mother suffers from panic attacks,” Gharib said.

“It’s really hard for them and my niece – she can’t sleep at night because of how scared she is.”

2:10 ‘I beg people to care’: Syrian refugee from Calgary organizes aid for earthquake survivors

Strange does what she can from Calgary, including volunteering at a fundraising event for earthquake survivors Saturday night.

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Her parents are desperate to get out of Syria, but the Syrian passport is at the bottom of the world passport rankings.

According to the VisaGuide World Passport Index, only a Syrian passport allows transit to nine countries without a visa.

They were talking about going to Egypt, for example, but it’s really hard. You can’t imagine how difficult it is, so if they can come here, that would be more than amazing,” Gharib said.

The federal government announced on Saturday that it will make it easier for temporary residents from Turkey and Syria to extend their stay in Canada and will prioritize visa applications for people from those two countries.

Read more: Fed uses ‘new strategy’ to help those affected by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

More than 50,000 people were killed and millions displaced after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and several strong aftershocks hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.

Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the government will allow people from Turkey and Syria who have temporary status to visit family, study or work in Canada to apply for an extension and will waive application fees for them.

“In particular, we will process applications for temporary residence of affected persons with priority – specifically family members of people who are in Canada today,” said Fraser.

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“These refugees have already fled the wars and now they are somehow living in very, very inferior conditions, and now suddenly everything is gone for them.”

Saima Jamal, co-founder of the Calgary Immigrant Support Association, said refugees need to be somewhere where they feel safe and cared for, and Canada is that place.

When it comes to earthquake survivors, she said, the Canadian government should take a similar approach as it did with Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Read more: ‘I beg people to take care’: A Syrian refugee from Calgary organizes aid for earthquake survivors

We need to do the same for the Syrians. We need to make the process easier but you also can’t expect many of them to work here. There are a lot of old people coming, so these are the people who have no way of surviving anymore. “It is very difficult for them, so you also need to make exceptions and when you ask people to come here as a temporary resident, they have some support here waiting for them as well,” Jamal said.

Those Syrians who are now in Turkey, they don’t have any homes. Jamal said.

After more than a decade of conflict, Syria remains the world’s largest refugee crisis. Millions of refugees have lost their livelihoods and with the earthquake the desire to leave has become even more urgent.

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They just want to find a safer place. Gharib said: This is the only dream.

“Coming to Canada – that would be a miracle.”

and copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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