Hong Kong asylum-seeker family who housed Edward Snowden embrace new life as Canadian permanent residents
- Sri Lankan family who had sheltered US whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong landed in Canada as privately sponsored refugees
- Refugee claims with the Canadian government had been filed on their behalf in January 2017
A family of four who had housed whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong in 2013 landed in Canada on Tuesday, after living in limbo for several years.
Supun Thilina Kellapatha, his wife Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis, and their stateless children Sethumdi and Dinath, were accepted as privately-sponsored refugees and are now Canadian permanent residents. The family arrived in Toronto at about 4pm on Tuesday.
“I’m so happy this is over. I’m so happy to be going to Canada,” Kellapatha said before he boarded the plane in Hong Kong. “We have a new life, our children now have a future. We’re so grateful right now. Really, I am speechless … The kids are so happy. I’m so grateful.”
Marc-André Séguin, a lawyer and president of Canadian non-profit organisation For the Refugees, said the family was greeted by representatives of the government of Canada upon arrival.
They then went through immigration procedures “to finalise their confirmation of permanent residence”, said Séguin, whose group fights for the rights of political refugees and asylum seekers.
The family joins Vanessa Rodel and her daughter Keana – who is also Supun’s daughter. The two were accepted into Canada as privately-sponsored refugees in March 2019.
