This is the moment Ahmad Abualjedian met his newborn daughter for the first time.
“I got my heart,” he said.
Sila was born in Gaza during the war. Abualjedian’s wife, Yara, was eight months pregnant when the Israel-Hamas war started and she was trapped.
She gave birth to Sila on Oct. 23. Yara and her mother didn’t know whether they’d be able to reach a hospital. Once they arrived, she said she ended up giving birth in the waiting room.
Abualjedian, who is a visually impaired Canadian permanent resident, spoke to CBC News Network on Nov. 2 — just 10 days after Sila was born. He said Global Affairs couldn’t help with a departure for Yara and their baby because they aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents. A few days later, he said someone from the department called him back and told him they were reopening his file.
Yara and Sila were among a group of 40 people with ties to Canada who were authorized to leave through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Nov. 7. They landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport today.
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