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The escape to Calgary from the death and destruction of Gaza was an emotional release for Ossama Zaqqout and his elderly parents who finished their journey Saturday.
But the arrival in the city of the first of any family-sponsored Gazans fleeing the conflict is only the first lap in an agonizing race against tragedy, said the Calgarian.
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“It is a big day — they’re so happy to get out because the dire situation in Gaza was unbearable,” said Zaqqout, adding his parents and other relatives in recent days narrowly escaped an Israeli bombardment in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
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“But it’s bittersweet, it’s a little bit of a relief but the amount of worry and stress to get the remaining people out is massive.”
His parents, 70-year-old father Abdulfatah and mother Intisar, 69, are among 36 people that Zaqqout’s family are hoping to bring out of Gaza to Canada.
A weary Abdulfatah said he’s grateful for the help of the Canadian government and those in this country in enabling them to come to Calgary but said he hopes for other loved ones to follow in their footsteps.
Speaking in Arabic with translation from his son, Abdulfatah described a Gaza that’s been under Israeli blockade for 17 years as a long-beleaguered place that’s now a death trap.
“Even before Oct. 7 there was so much poverty and suffering … after the war it became more difficult with (Israeli) bombing without notification … we had to be displaced several times,” said the man who was greeted by about 30 well-wishers.
“Israel claimed (where we sought refuge) was safe but it wasn’t.”
Sixteen others in their family have made it to Egypt after paying a $5,000-per-person fee to operatives with links to the Egyptian government, he said.
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A GoFundMe campaign has raised $125,000 to spirit relatives out of Gaza but much more is needed to help others flee and support them afterwards, said the younger Zaqqout.
Other relatives and friends are clamouring desperately for deliverance from the Israeli attacks that health authorities in Gaza say have killed more than 34,000 people, he said.
“We receive calls from them almost every day asking, ‘when will we come out,’ begging me to get them out but I have no means,” he said.
“It’s been affecting my mental well-being for a long time.”
Families in Canada are also concerned about the prospect of a final Israeli offensive in the crowded southern edge of Gaza where many refugees are holed up.
A brother, a photojournalist who’s covered some of the conflict, and his family now have visas and are expected to arrive in Calgary in mid-May, said Zaqqout, 38.
His parents visited Calgary in the summer of 2023 and returned to Gaza, he said, two months before Hamas militants attacked southern Israel last October, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking another 230 hostage.
They were forced to leave their home in Gaza City and have fled Israeli attacks multiple times before finally exiting the territory.
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Just last week, two child relatives of Zaqqout’s were killed in an Israeli bombardment while his wife has lost 11 of her relatives, said the Calgarian, who’s lived in Canada for five years.
“I’ve lost count of the number of friends, colleagues and family members who have been killed in this war,” he said.
Zaqqout, who worked as a nurse in Gaza, is also wondering if former co-workers will be unearthed in mass graves discovered outside two of the enclave’s hospitals following Israeli assaults on them. The Israelis said they were seeking Hamas militants who they claim had hidden in the hospitals.
“Now I’m afraid some of my previous colleagues, nurses, are in those graves — some have been missing since the assault,” he said.
While relatives who’ve escaped Gaza have been receiving visas from the Canadian government, Zaqqout said Ottawa should be more pro-active and efficient in enabling that exodus, a process it’s made far easier for those fleeing other conflicts.
He said they’ve received no financial support from the government and have forced families to resort to paying exorbitant fees for their loved ones’ escapes.
And Zaqqout said Ottawa’s been dealing with less-cooperative Israeli authorities on this issue when it’s the Egyptians who control the border at Rafah, Gaza.
“The program is more flexible now, there have been improvements made but it’s not enough,” he said.
Ottawa has set a cap of 1,000 people it’ll allow into the country from Gaza under a family reunification program, a number those affected by the war say is pitifully small.
X (Twitter) @BillKaufmannjrn
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