Family makes 'selfish' decision to protect daughters but leave parents in Gaza

A Palestinian man said his family was forced to make what they called a "selfish" decision and return to Canada with his daughters and wife, leaving his family behind.

Mohammed-Sharif Alghusain, his wife Dina, and daughters Suha, 7, and Hedaya, 5, have been in Montreal for under a week. He and his daughters are Canadian citizens and left Gaza after the bombing began.

"We took the decision to leave, even though we left behind our parents, our sisters, brothers, loved ones of course, we decided to take such a selfish decision, but it's just a tough one," said Alghusain. "It's basically comparing whether to take care of your daughters or to take care of your parents. Such a tough decision."

The couple's seven-year-old, Suha, is diabetic and needs medication and possible hospital care, that has become scarce in the region under siege.

"She has Type I diabetes, and during war, and when she gets scared, fear, her glucose levels drop very fast and there are no hospitals at the moment," said Alghusain. "We were very, very scared that she'd go into a coma and we wouldn't be able to treat her. As a father, I'm not able to take such a responsibility if something were to happen to her."

The family's journey to Canada included several stops.

First, they evacuated the family's primary residence to a safer place in the city.

"Then our house got bombarded, so we had to evacuate again to a more safe place in the south," said Alghusain. "A couple of times moving so we could be able to have our names on the Canadian list."

They eventually made it to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, and then to Montreal.

He said many people are in similar situations, having to make what he calls a "selfish decision" to leave extended family members behind.

Alghusain is hoping that Canada can follow other states' policies that allow those fleeing to bring extended family members, such as parents.

"Parents are the first thing that should be included in the extended family," he said. "That's a big problem."

As of Wednesday, Alghusain had sent almost 20 emails trying to get his parents and sisters visas so they can pass into Egypt.

"Unfortunately, we do not decide who will be allowed to enter Egypt, and we have no control over who is allowed through the crossing," an email from the Emergency Watch and Response Centre (WERC) reads.

Alghusain said that once his parents and two sisters are in Egypt, he can get them to Montreal.

Canada regularly updates the list of those approved to cross the Rafah border. None of the 386 people with connections to Canada were able to cross into Egypt on Thursday.

EVERYTHING DESTROYED

Alghusain came to Canada when he was 18 and studied architecture and business management at Concordia University's John Molson School of Business.

He returned to Gaza nine years ago, got married, and opened a construction company that employed 70 people before the bombing started.

"I had multiple projects, one of them was all the hospitals in Gaza to do rennovations," he said. "Things were going really good until this happened. Everything that I owned in Gaza, I lost, fully."

Before the war, he supported his family, his parents and sisters, and has now lost everything, including his apartment. A friend of the family has started a fundraising campaign to help the family out.

Another thing he lost is all contact with the family he left behind.

"It's been three days that I haven't been able to communicate with them. There's no internet, no electricity; it's very, very hard to communicate right now," he said. "The situation is getting worse and worse every single day. It's not getting better in any way."

He said that in some situations, there are around 60 people living in a 200-square-metre apartment with one washroom.

"About seven families. Each family is sitting in a corner. It's very bad."

In Canada, Alghusain's family is trying to adjust to life in the cold north. Alghusain said one of his daughters loves the cold weather, and the other doesn't.

However, both had the same answer when he asked them how they liked living in Montreal.

"Both of my daughters, when I asked them, 'How are you guys liking it?' they said: 'It's amazing because there's no war,'" he said. "It's as simple as that. I was shocked. They were like, 'I love it so much because there's no war.'"