After years of failed applications, desperate letters and in-person pleas, Hassan Mursal believed the end could be in sight.
The Edmonton father thought last Friday was the day he was finally getting his daughters back.
Saabiriin, 14, and Zuhur, 9, were supposed to arrive on a flight from Nairobi after a treacherous journey fleeing escalating conflict in southwest Somali region of Ethiopia. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued emergency travel documents to facilitate the girls’ return.
But Kenyan authorities wouldn’t allow his daughters, who are Canadian citizens, to board the plane. Global Affairs Canada said it is in contact with Kenyan authorities about the girls’ case.
“I’m very, very stressed,” Mursal told CBC after receiving news of the latest roadblock.
It’s a sharp contrast to how Mursal felt just days earlier, bubbling with excitement after Global Affairs sent his daughters’ flight itinerary from Nairobi to Edmonton.
“Maybe God gave me the number one paradise in the world,” Mursal had said with a relieved chuckle at the time.
The family’s story first came to light six weeks ago when a fearful Mursal spoke to CBC News about the plight of his daughters who had been living in Ethiopia with their Ethiopian mother until she died.
To bring them to Canada, Mursal had to replace his older daughter’s lost Canadian passport. But Canadian investigators accused Mursal of submitting a photo of a female who wasn’t Saabiriin.
Hassan Mursal has been fighting for several years to bring his Canadian daughters to Edmonton. (CBC/Trevor Wilson)
Paperwork shows years of efforts as Mursal tried to convince officials at the Canadian embassy in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and the federal government to change their minds. Eventually, Mursal believed his family’s only hope was to fly back home to make his case on Canadian soil.
Mursal flew back to Edmonton last summer, leaving his daughters in the care of a family friend, thinking they would be safe.
But within months, deadly clashes forced thousands of people including the girls to flee southwest Ethiopia to Kenya.
The sisters traveled in the dead of night to try to avoid the violence as they crossed the border into Kenya and arrived in Nairobi where they’ve been ever since.
Rally for support
In Edmonton, the Coalition for Human Rights and Justice took up their case. They argued that regardless of the passport issue, the well-being of two Canadian children should be the priority.
The Mursal sisters in a more recent photo before they fled clashes in Ethiopia. (Supplied by Hassan Mursal)
“It just really showed to me how effective and how much empathy our government has towards vulnerable Canadian children,” said Mark Cherrington, a volunteer with the coalition.
Cherrington commended the family for their ongoing resiliency which will continue to be required in the face of new challenges when the girls finally arrive.
Mursal’s income is limited due to health issues and he lives in a small home with roommates so housing will be needed, said Cherrington. With no other relatives or fluency in English, the girls will also require supports around education, healthcare, recreation and transportation.