Emotional Airport Reunion for Syrian Father and Sons
A father and his two sons had an intense reunion this week that was 15 years in the making.
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Mamon Alhomsi, who was jailed for political activism in his native Syria before fleeing the country for Canada in 2000, was overcome with emotion as his boys, now men, were finally able to join him. They cried tears of relief and embraced in the Vancouver airport on Thursday, marking the end of a long and traumatic chapter in their family’s journey.
The father and his two sons speak to reporters. (Photo: CBC News)
“Fifteen years. 15 years,” Alhomsi told CTV News as he anxiously awaited his sons’ arrival, with his younger son Mustufa, 9, and daughter Miriam, 4, standing by his side to meet their older stepbrothers for the first time. “It’s been a long time since I’ve expressed any feelings of happiness,” he told CBC News. (Watch an emotional video of their reunion below.) “The Syrian dictatorship had wronged us for many years.”
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When his grown sons, Yaseen, 25, and Majd, 23, arrived through the airport gate, the three men embraced long and hard, weeping, kissing each other, and taking each other in.
Mustafa, 9, holds a sign in support of Canada. (Photo: Twitter/Simon Little)
“I don’t have any words to … express this feeling, my sister, my brother, first time I see him and my sister, my father … in 15 years, now I have 25 years, I was in school,” Yaseen told CKNW.
When Alhomsi fled for Canada, he was confident he’d be able to have his sons follow soon after. But the process stalled for many years, and the Syrian government punished his sons in his absence.
“Yaseen was kidnapped by the regime,” he told reporters through a translator. “He was put in prison for about eight months until he was released under international pressure.” He added praise for his new home. “Canada’s always been on the frontline in terms of humanitarian support and welcoming refugees,” he said through his translator. “Finally, Canada’s back to its reputation.”
A weepy Alhomsi talks to the press. (Photo: Twitter/Simon Little)
Yaseen and Majd are just two of the nearly 400 Syrian refugees expected to make their way to Vancouver by the end of the month, which the family is grateful for. “All Syrian people live unfair lives,” Yaseen said. “All Syrian people.”
Alhomsi added this message when he spoke with CBC News: “Please help us. Help Syrians reunite with their families. It’s something that we really need. Syrian people is a very good people. … We do not host any extreme ideas. We are moderates. We love life. Do not be afraid of Syrian people.”
(Top photo: CBC News)
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