Immigration nightmare: Loved ones of Yazidi family in Winnipeg risk deportation to Iraq

A Winnipeg family that fled ISIS a decade ago and has been working tirelessly to reunite with loved ones left behind is fearing the worst after the latest hurdle in a long immigration nightmare.

Hasso Elias, who first spoke to CityNews two weeks ago about his extended family members in Turkey trying to come to Canada, says his aunt Gawre Qasim, her four kids and her late husband’s niece are living in terror every day.

The Yazidi refugees, who fled from Iraq to Turkey after spending years in an ISIS refugee camp – where the family’s father was killed – say they are about to be deported back to Iraq, derailing a plan that’s been in place for nearly five years. It could also leave them at serious risk of being left without a home.

“The family was contacted by Turkish officials, and they were told that they are going to deport them back to Iraq,” Elias said.

“All they do is cry and unfortunately, our hands are tied. There’s nothing we can do other than try to raise awareness and bring it to the attention of folks in Ottawa, and hopefully they can get this file moving.”

In an emailed statement to CityNews, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says in situations where applicants are deported, it would continue to process their application “wherever possible.”

“Applicants should notify IRCC that they have been deported and provide updated contact information,” a spokesperson said. “Clients should remain responsive to any inquiries and request for information from our office. IRCC will make all necessary effort and actions to finalize applications when possible. IRCC will contact applicants using their contact information on file as soon if additional information is needed.

“The applicant must continue to meet the program requirements throughout the resettlement application process.”

But Nafiya Naso, with the Canadian Yazidi Association and Operation Ezra, is wondering how the family can update their contact information, and how their applications can move forward, if they risk being without a home.

“Gawre’s husband was killed by ISIS and her home was destroyed in the Sinjar region of Iraq, and therefore she has nothing to return to,” Naso explained. “If, God forbid, she was deported, her and her kids will end up on a street somewhere in Iraq.

“Eventually she’s scared that she’s gonna lose her children.”

CityNews first spoke to the Eliases when their family in Turkey had travelled from Midyat to Ankara for interviews and medical assessments – a huge step forward in the winding process to bring them to Canada.

But the joy and optimism were brief: the family was told by medical staff performing assessments for IRCC to come back in three months because Elias’ cousin had “unclear X-ray results.”

The family claims it wasn’t given additional details on his health condition when it asked the doctors, or why it needed to wait.

Medical results can take ‘several months‘

IRCC reiterated, in its latest statement to CityNews, the government body is waiting for the completion of the family’s Immigration Medical Examinations (IME) “to ensure that there are no public health, security or safety concerns when they enter Canada.”

“Canada requires permanent residents and certain temporary residents to have an IME prior to their arrival, which screens for certain communicable diseases and determines if applicants are medically admissible. IRCC is not involved in the medical examination. Clients are encouraged to liaise directly with the panel physician completing their examination who will be able to explain the medical tests and results.

“In some instances, additional testing may be required in which case IRCC sends a letter to the applicant informing them to return to the panel physician. Depending on the type of testing required, results can take anywhere from a couple of days to several months.

“IRCC will continue processing the family’s applications once medical examinations are completed and the results are assessed.”

A persecuted religious minority

Naso called Qasim, Elias’ aunt, on the phone so she could speak to CityNews. Qasim claims no doctor has been willing to see them because they’re not Turkish citizens.

“Being Yazidis, they have to hide their identity, so they’re trying to find a doctor to take her son to, to get tested because she’s still really worried,” said Naso, speaking for Qasim. “Not only about the call of being deported, but her child’s health.”

Yazidis are a religious minority based mainly in northern Iraq. They were persecuted by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, two years after ISIS began sweeping through villages in Iraq, a United Nations report declared the slaughter, sexual slavery, indoctrination and other crimes committed against the Yazidi amounted to genocide.

The Eliases were among 1,200 Yazidi families the government brought to Canada via the United Nations as part of its resettlement commitment plan in 2017 for ISIS survivors. But the extended family never made it overseas.

“We understand and feel for everything that’s going on around the world, but that being said, the Canadian government did recognize the Yazidi genocide back in 2016 therefore, there is an obligation to help at least reunite some of these families, like the Elias family,” Naso said.

Naso adds any day in the coming weeks, the family is in danger of being deported without notice.

“The level of trauma they have experienced is just unimaginable,” she said. “So again, the message to the government, to IRCC, the importance of reuniting these families is an understatement.

“If the family’s deported, we’ve told IRCC previously and we’re telling them again, today, that this family, there’s a huge safety concern.”

Elias is hoping to see his family’s file prioritized.

“I hope IRCC, folks in Ottawa and folks in Ankara will consider my family and move their file forward and reunite us here in Winnipeg very soon,” he said.