Long journey to safety for Palestinian Canadian family meant leaving loved ones behind

A warm welcome awaited Mohammad Sharif Alghusain, his wife Dina and two young daughters Suha and Hedaya when they arrived in Montreal Saturday.

It was a long journey to safety for the Palestinian Canadian family fleeing Gaza.

Once on Canadian soil, the family was surrounded by friends and people who worked tirelessly to get them to safety.

“There was no way that I was going to be able to stay there and make sure that my two daughters are safe,” the father of two said. “There’s no safe place in Gaza whatsoever.”

The family had been living in Gaza for eight years; they moved from Canada to be closer to Alghusain’s parents and sisters.

Humanitarian organization Islamic Relief Canada works with Palestinians to provide assistance to evacuate families from Gaza. The group also assisted Alghusain and his family by providing funding and accommodations.

“I think about it, there’s going to be two little girls sleeping safely for the first time tonight,” said Miranda Gallo, the policy and advocacy expert at Islamic Relief Canada. “But there’s still so much more to be done. There’s still so many children that are not sleeping safely and do not have that luxury.”

Alghusain, an engineer, says the situation in Gaza is worsening day by day. He says his home, businesses and his parents’ house were destroyed by bombings.

“We don’t ask about houses anymore, we don’t ask about cars, businesses,” he said. “Nothing materialistic has actual value now. What we ask about at the moment is are you still alive or not.”

Alghusain was able to get his wife and daughters – one of whom is diabetic and required urgent care – out safely. But it came at the cost of leaving his parents behind in war-torn Gaza.

“I had to choose saving the lives of my daughters and leaving the ones that I love behind,” he said.

“You can’t put a person in a choice between choosing his daughters and his parents. This is not a choice to make, not for a human being.”

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Islamic Relief Canada is hoping more can be done by the Canadian government to reunite families that are placed in such impossible situations.

“I think a lot of people are happy to be home and grateful for safety but the circumstances are just a tragedy,” said Gallo. “And many have left behind mothers, fathers, sisters, aunts, uncles that are going to have to endure the days to come.”