Yousra’s Story: “I Need Canadians Help to Save My Mother”

It would take over almost a year and a half for some of the family members that Yousra applied for to be evacuated to Canada. 

But for reasons that are still unclear from the Canadian government, her elderly mother was not evacuated with them.

Gazan Canadians across Canada have faced similar delays with having their family members evacuated, with some dying as they waited. 

Others have seen their family torn apart by Canadian government decisions, including two families where the father and young children were evacuated but their mothers were left behind.

Muslim Link interviewed Yousra about her experiences as a Gazan Canadian trying to evacuate family from Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. 

Yousra hopes that readers like you who learn her story will take action to save her mother and the family members of hundreds of Gazan Canadians still in Gaza due to the failures of Canada's Gazan Family Reunification plan.

**************************************************************

GAZA BEFORE THE WAR

Tell us about your life in Gaza before you decided to come to Canada.

Before coming to Canada, I was the manager and owner of a kindergarten and preschool in Gaza. Despite that position, life was incredibly difficult. Most families couldn’t afford to pay the full tuition because many people were without salaries. I did my best to help however I could, because everyone was struggling.

The living situation overall was tough. Although life felt calm at times, we were living under a strict blockade. Traveling was nearly impossible. Just to get out of Gaza to Egypt, we had to pay around $3,000, and even then, we had to wait months—sometimes a year—just to get a travel permit. The electricity was cut off for 12 hours a day, summer and winter, and clean water and medicine were often unavailable. These were basic things we lacked every single day.

The repeated wars took a serious toll on our lives, especially on the children. After every war, I had to take my own kids to therapy and medical treatment just to help them stop having night terrors. And it wasn’t just my kids—I saw children in my kindergarten suffering too. Some lost their hair due to stress-related conditions like alopecia, and others developed skin problems and weakened immune systems, all from the trauma and constant fear.

Despite trying to stay strong, it became clear to me that I couldn’t raise my children in a place where war, fear, and basic survival were part of daily life. I had to find a safer, more stable future for them. 

That’s when I knew I had to leave Gaza.

CHOOSING CANADA

Why did you choose to come to Canada?

Canada is known around the world as a safe country that welcomes immigrants and refugees. For us, that meant hope. The fact that English is widely spoken made the transition feel a little easier, and we already had family here—my husband’s sister had been living in Canada for ten years. She encouraged us to take the step and reassured us that we would be supported. Her presence, along with Canada’s reputation for safety and opportunity, made it the right choice for our family.

How has life in Canada been for you up until the start of the war began in 2023.. 

Every day, I was trying to adapt. It’s not easy to have your life change 180 degrees. I felt like I had sacrificed everything—my life, my family, my friends—but I was doing it all for the sake of giving my children a safe and stable future. I was ready to do whatever it took. I studied, I volunteered, I worked… because I wanted to truly become part of this community, along with my husband and kids.

My husband worked on getting his qualifications recognized here, and I went back to college. It was a long and challenging journey, but at the end of the day, we were searching for stability.

My family in Gaza kept encouraging me every time I felt down or defeated. They would say, “You did the right thing. Life here in Gaza is getting harder every single day.” Their support gave me strength to keep going.

EVACUATING FAMILY FROM GAZA

After the war broke out, why did you decide to try to get your family out of Gaza?

There had been wars before—in 2021 and 2023—but I never thought about getting my family out of Gaza. 

But this last war… it started differently. 

Right from the beginning, the military demanded entire neighborhoods evacuate their homes. When people didn’t, they bombed the entire area with civilians still inside. 

We never imagined something like that could happen. 

In the past, a single building might be targeted, and even though civilians sometimes died, the numbers were nothing like what we saw in the first two days of this war.

It was terrifying. This didn’t feel like just another conflict—it felt like the beginning of something much worse. Not just a week or two of fighting. It felt like a war of annihilation.

That’s when I realized I couldn’t just sit and wait. We started organizing protests, sending letters and emails to the government. I wasn’t even asking for them to be brought to Canada. I just wanted someone to help me get my family out—to anywhere safe. Even if it was temporary, even if it was just across the border to Egypt. I only wanted to protect them. I just wanted the Canadian government to see me as a human being who was afraid for her family’s life.

CTV Edmonton first covered your efforts to reunite with your family in December 2023. What was your experience having your story told in the media?

When CTV Edmonton covered my story, it was both a blessing and a challenge. 

On the positive side, it brought much-needed attention to the situation. It helped raise awareness about what my family and I were going through, and I felt like I wasn’t alone anymore. The media gave me a platform to voice my fears and my hopes for my family’s safety, but unfortunately, our voices in the media weren’t fully heard. 

Despite the coverage, nothing has changed for my family up until today. The situation remains the same, and my family still faces the same danger. I really hoped that the media could amplify our message and bring more attention to our struggle. We need support more than ever.

Our loved ones in Gaza have been suffering for two years now, and we feel helpless. It’s frustrating not to be able to do more, especially when we know how much they need us. 

I just wish the media could help us make a bigger impact, to push for the change that could.

After over a year, your sisters were able to get visas to come to Canada. But you had also applied to evacuate your mother. When did you realize that your mother wasn't going to be evacuated with your sisters because of the Canadian government’s decision?

I truly believed my mother would be the first to leave Gaza, especially since she already had a valid visa that I applied for back in 2021, which is still valid until 2026. She had also received a visa in 2017, so I assumed everything was in place. My mother is elderly—over 70 years old—and her file was complete and clean, so I never imagined she’d be left behind.

At first, I received an email in March 2025 stating that both my mother and my two sisters would be evacuated. I was so relieved. But later, the evacuation was delayed, and when I got the updated letter, it only included my sisters. My mother was no longer on the list.

I started making phone calls right away, asking why my mother was removed. They couldn’t give me a specific reason—just that she would be evacuated “eventually.” But I still don’t understand why she wasn’t evacuated at the same time as my sisters. It’s been incredibly painful and confusing, especially since she had everything in order.

GAZA NOW

What are the current conditions in Gaza? 

The situation in Gaza is beyond catastrophic. 

Hunger has reached such extreme levels that theft and corruption have become widespread. People are so desperate that even neighbors have turned against each other—fighting over a single bag of flour, if it’s available at all.

There’s no clean water, no food, and no access to proper medical care. My mother has diabetes, and at one point she had no choice but to take expired medication because there was nothing else available. That’s the reality people are living in.

The youth have lost their sense of hope. Instead of dreaming about their future, their only wish now is to sleep through the night without fear and to have a full meal. Life has been stripped down to pure survival—physically, emotionally, and mentally.

CANADA NOW

What do you wish that Canadians understood about Gazans like yourself and your family?

As a Canadian citizen with family still trapped in Gaza, I wish people here truly understood what families like mine are going through. 

We’re not just watching the news—we’re living it, every day, through the fear, the pain, and the helplessness of being so far from the people we love.

Gazans are not just victims of war—they’re people with dignity, dreams, and so much strength. My family, like many others, has endured hunger, displacement, lack of medicine, and the constant fear of death. And as someone living safely in Canada, it breaks me that I can’t bring them to safety fast enough.

I want Canadians to see us—not as distant strangers, but as part of their own community. I’m here, I belong here, and I’m asking for their help. 

Our voices matter. My family deserves to live in peace, just like anyone else. What we need now is action, compassion, and pressure on the government to act—because time is running out.

This was the first election you voted in as a Canadian citizen. Tell us about that experience. 

Honestly, it was such a special moment for me. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I truly had a say—like my voice actually matters. 

I felt emotional. I kept thinking about everything I went through to get here, and how this country gave me and my kids a safe place. I was voting not just for myself, but for a better future—for my children, and even for my family still stuck in Gaza. 

This was my first time voting in Canada, so for me, this moment was more than just casting a vote—it was about finding hope again, something I had lost a long time ago.

I felt proud. I felt like a real Canadian citizen. I have a voice, I have rights, and I belong here. I deserve safety and the excitement of participating in something meaningful. 

But as I stood there voting, all I could think about was my family in Gaza. They’re just like me—the only difference is, I was given an opportunity that they weren’t.

What help do you need from your fellow Canadians in order to save your mother?

I’m not asking for something impossible. I’m a Canadian citizen, and my mother is still trapped in Gaza — along with three of my sisters and their children. I want to see them again. I want to see their children grow up. I want my mother to be safe. She is an elderly woman with health issues, and she deserves peace and safety — just like anyone else.

We are human beings. We’re a family torn apart by war. We deserve to be treated with dignity. I need the Canadian government to recognize us as people, to treat our case with the same urgency and compassion they showed to Ukrainian families. Why were their doors opened so quickly, and we’re still waiting—suffering in silence?

I’m asking Canadians to help. Contact your MPs, sign petitions, talk about us, share our stories — do whatever you can to raise your voice and help bring our families to safety. 

My only wish is that Canada, my country, will stand by me and help me protect my mother — like any daughter would.

****************

In order to take action to save Gazans like Yousra’s mother, review the Toolkit created for advocates for Gazan Canadians families online here, then reach out to your Member of Parliament.