Family arrives safely in Calgary after escaping the war in Gaza

It was a long-awaited reunion at the Calgary International Airport Saturday as Ossama Zaqqout hugged his parents, who had just arrived after fleeing the war in Gaza.

Zaqqout had been trying for months to get his parents to safety. 

“My parents has been displaced several times within Gaza,” Zaqqout says.

“About two months I haven't heard at all from my parents and my family, because of communication issues, and there is no internet, there is no communication, " he says.

This is the first time since October 7, 2023 that a Calgarian's family members arrived in our city as family sponsored refugees from Gaza.

“It's a mixed feeling. I'm overwhelmed with happiness to see my father,” Zaqqout says.

“I'm overwhelmed with knowing that the Government of Canada is not going to offer us much support.”

This family, like many others, received no government support in navigating the logistics of exit fees, which can cost more than $6,800 Canadian. Refugees are also responsible for covering other costs, like accommodations in Egypt while they await their visas approval. 

The financial burden of escaping the violence has prompted many in the Palestinian community to call on the Canadian government to do more to support the safe exit of residents and citizens trapped in Gaza. 

The past six or seven months have been overwhelming and full of anxiety for Zaqqout and his family.

“To wake up every day, knowing that a cousin has been killed or injured, a family member has been affected -- my wife lost 11 members of her family -- to know that a friend or a colleague I used to work with in the past has been also killed or injured, it's become like a daily routine for us and that's not healthy," he said. 

Zaqqout’s brother and his family received their visas and are scheduled to arrive in Calgary in mid-May.

He remains hopeful members of his wife’s family will also soon get their visas and make their way to Canada by the end of May.