Afghan-Canadian says she's losing hope of reuniting her family in Toronto
CBC
Saadiyeh Aria works at Toronto's Pearson Airport, watching day after day as people are reunited with loved ones — but when it comes to the two people she most wants to see walking through the arrival doors, there's no hope in sight.
Despite years of trying to bring her mother and younger brother to Canada, Aria says she's hit a wall.
"If we knew ... we would have never come to Canada," she said.
Aria, now a Canadian citizen, came to Canada as a refugee in 2008 along with her brother, sister, niece and nephew.
She and her family fled Afghanistan together for safety reasons in 2001, but wound up separated along the way. Her mother is now in Denmark, where she's safe but undergoing cancer treatment with only Aria's brother to care for her.
Aria said her family is set up well to care for her mom, but frustrated that Canada isn't making it easy for her to come here. Throughout Aria's journey, she says she was assured by the Canadian embassy officials that her family could one day be reunited in this country.
Now she's finding out that may not be true. What she's finding out is there isn't a specific application that fits the category her brother falls under in the sponsor your family members to immigrate to Canada section — and the immigration options to sponsor her mom are limited.
After fleeing Afghanistan, the family spent years in Iran before being designated refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Turkey in 2006.
During a dangerous exit from Turkey, the family of seven was separated by police, and only their mother and younger brother were able to leave the country. They lost contact with each other after that.
Aria says the United Nations helped them to seek refuge from different embassies in Turkey, which is how they made it to Canada.
Once here, Aria and her family members scanned TV programs aimed at reuniting Afghan families. That led them to discover their mom and younger brother were safe and living in Denmark.
But since 2008, the family has had no luck in bringing them to Canada despite pursuing multiple avenues, Aria says.
For Aria's mother to join her in Canada, there are two options, the IRCC says. One is a super visa, which allows parents and grandparents to stay in the country for up to five years per stay, with the possibility of a two-year extension.
Aria tried that route but was rejected.