When Rani Hemaid's daughter Alma learned her grandparents were coming to Canada, escaping the war in Gaza, she started counting down the days, he says. Even his two-year-old son, Zaid, who hadn't seen them in a long time was excited. For Hemaid, it was a huge relief after months of anguish and sleepless nights worrying about their safety.
Late last month, his parents arrived at Toronto's Pearson Airport, nearly half a year after Hemaid applied to the Canadian government to bring them here. Alma ran through the airport to greet them with a hug, he recalls. "I can't explain to you how happy they are," Hemaid said of his children, now that the family has been reunited after a tense eight months.
The family home in Gaza was destroyed in an airstrike on Oct. 10, Hemaid previously told CBC Hamilton. His parents had been living in a rented apartment in Cairo since around New Year.
They arrived in Canada on May 23 and are now safely living with Hemaid in Hamilton. WATCH | Hemaid says he's happy to have parents in Canada but worries for sister's family in Gaza Hamilton Palestinian man happy to have parents in Canada but worries for sister's family in Gaza 11 hours ago Duration 0:57 Hamilton man Rani Hemaid says his Palestinian parents feel welcome in Canada but the family still worries for his sister and her family who they haven't been able to get out of Gaza. "They're enjoying the beautiful weather, the parks, our welcoming community," Hemaid said.
He came to Canada in 2014, also fl.