Just in time for Christmas: Egyptian refugee in Hong Kong since 2013 finally gets his ticket to Canada
- Former journalist Poules Zaki gets long-awaited news that he can start life anew in St John, New Brunswick, this month
- Only 320 out of 27,871 asylum seekers have succeeded in getting clearance to be resettled since 2009
“I am so happy. My life has been on hold for 10 years, I cannot wait to see my family again,” he told the Post.
Although his legal bid for refugee status came through in 2018, he had to wait another five years before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) finally told him he could leave Hong Kong.
On November 29, the UN agency informed him he would be resettled in Saint John, New Brunswick, a city about 750km (466 miles) east of Ottawa. He has a brother and a sister in Egypt, and they will be able to join him in Canada too.
“I’m really happy that the first time I can travel in 10 years will be to Canada and I’ll get to see snow at Christmas,” he said.
Zaki is one of only 320 people who have obtained refugee status in Hong Kong since late 2009 – under 1 per cent of the total 27,871 foreigners who tried.
The city does not grant asylum, but offers non-refoulement, which ensures that asylum seekers will not be returned to a country where they might be at risk of persecution or torture.
