They shouted and sobbed to each other over video on WhatsApp. They had no clear answer over what to do. Jihan’s seizures worsened. She visited the emergency department 20 times over a three-month stretch, Dr. Coakley said. These numbers do not include multiple responses from emergency medical services to help her during seizures.
In April, a spokesperson for the IRCC told The Globe that the youngest Khudher had no further applications open for coming to Canada. A few days later, the IRCC updated its statement and said Hudda’s application was being processed and prioritized. Later, the IRCC would not comment on how she had become eligible for family reunification.
In May, the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS), a local non-profit that provides settlement services to immigrants and refugees, received word that Hudda’s application had been approved. Jihan confirmed this, saying, “Hudda is coming to Canada.” She added, “Thank you, thank you very much to Canada“
On July 31, Rowena Theodore of CCIS and Kheriya Khidir, a Ezidi Calgarian who translates for local refugees, read out flight information to the sisters as the blue screens on the wall of the Calgary airport updated arrival times. The late-morning flight from Toronto to Calgary was delayed 10 minutes, then 20. The sisters paced and stood and paced some more.Ms. Khidir’s phone beeped with a text message from the UN representative who’d been with Hudda since she left the camp nearly 48 hours earlier.“She’s coming,” Ms. Khidir said. Her sisters stood up and watched the arrivals doors. As soon as the glass doors began to open, one of the sisters gave a cry and Munifa rushed forward. Jihan hung back for a minute, taking it in, and then she walked forward and threw her arms around her sister. After they let go, they held hands or linked arms as they waited for Hudda’s suitcase. Hudda put hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, overwhelmed. “It’s magic,” said Fariborz Birjandian, CEO of CCIS. “It’s Canadian magic that brings these people together. It’s just amazing.”
In the past year, about 10 Ezidi families in Calgary have been reunited with missing daughters and sons, or sisters and brothers, said Mr. Birjandian. The most recent reunion happened on Christmas Eve when four boys between the ages of 11 and 16, who’d been long-time captives of the Islamic State, arrived in Calgary.When reunifications occur, “there’s a sense of relief, a sense of hope that things are going to get better,” Mr. Birjandian said. “They get this sense of accomplishment that something good has happened and Daesh, or the people that have done these bad things to them, have been defeated.” Approximately 22 survivors of the Islamic State have been settled through family-reunification measures, said Béatrice Fénelon, a spokesperson for the IRCC. “For survivors of Daesh, including Ezidis, every effort is made to facilitate expeditious reunification with family members who are freed from captivity,” she said.

CHRISTINA FRANGOU

SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Ezidi24.com