Palestinian woman who gave birth at a refugee camp recounts long journey to Calgary

After fleeing Gaza City last October, time was ticking before Ashjan AbuRabee had to give birth to her fourth child.

“It was so scary, and I was pregnant -- in my fifth month at that time," AbuRabee said through a translator, her brother Tamer Jarada. "My main worry was that we would be losing our lives -- or our families."

On October 25, AbuRabee and her brother lost their two parents, two sisters and 12 other family members during an Israeli attack on Gaza City.

In November, the family made their way to Central Gaza for a month and half before arriving at a refugee camp in Rafah in January. The pregnant mother stayed there with her husband, and three kids in a tent.

“(It was an) open area where people just put their tents," said Tamer, translating his sister's story. "There was no infrastructure there: no water,  no electricity.

"They had to walk four kilometres to get some water.”

As the days passed, and her family searched for a way out, she became closer and closer to giving birth. Then on February 6, her fourth son Adam was born.

“It was so hard, I couldn't imagine myself, giving birth to my son under these circumstances," she said. "It was really, really hard."

Health complications

Adam was born with some health complications, mainly breathing issues.

Adding to the challenge of raising a newborn child with breathing issues, as well as three other children, in a tent,  the camp experienced flooding.

“The nurse who helped me, deliver my baby, asked me if there is anyone who would help to put some clothes on my son and help me look after him, because there was no one,” she said.

Costly border crossing

The family of five stayed in the tent until April before they crossed the border into Egypt.

However, they said an Egyptian official wouldn’t let her husband Fadi leave with them.

“Usually, they don’t let me leave because they require further security screening,” said Jarada. “He was cleared to leave in early May."

Israeli forces would later take over the checkpoint in early May, which Jarada says has prevented him from leaving.

Jarada says he paid a total of USD $25,000 to Egyptian brokers who facilitated their move. He says that crossing point is still closed.

“I worked hard, because the (Canadian) government hasn’t done enough,” said Jarada. “I had to take matters into my own hands.”

Cairo

The family then went from Rafah to Cario, where they stayed until the end of the September. AbuRabee and her four children waited five months for the Canadian government to process their visa papers.

“The waiting wasn't easy. It's hard but we always had the hope that we will be leaving to Canada, sometime,”

That day came when they boarded a plane who took them first to Frankfurt and then to Calgary on September 30.

“Being on a plane for the first time was an amazing experience," Tamer said. "I can't describe how happy everyone was coming here."

The family is joyful to be in Canada but AbuRabee worries about her husband, who remains in Gaza.

“I'm hoping that  there will be a better future for my kids here in Canada despite all the hardship that we have been going through,” AbuRabee said, through Tamer's translation.

Since the war has broken out, Jarada says he has helped a total 11 family members escape the conflict. He said he has paid $130,000 to Egyptian officials with $40,000 coming through fundraising efforts.