After a Sudanese citizen with Canadian citizenship was separated from the woman his parents adopted, with whom he had lived his entire life feeling she was a true sister and a piece of his soul, he is now tormented by her suffering following the outbreak of war in the country and the growing distances between them. Sami Al-Atabani is doing everything he can to secure a safe passage for her and her children to leave Sudan, as they have been stranded for over ten weeks due to the war.
Al-Atabani hopes that the Canadian government will consider evacuating his sister, Khuloud Yaqoub Abdullah (43 years old), even though she does not hold Canadian citizenship like the rest of the family. Khuloud lives with her seven children in Omdurman, one of the three cities that make up the greater capital region of Sudan, where there have been repeated battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Despite being away from the sites of the fiercest fighting, Khuloud remains in danger. Al-Atabani said, "We are extremely concerned for their safety. I cannot describe how much pain we feel as a family from this situation," adding that the family is making strenuous efforts to reassure their 91-year-old mother about Khuloud's safety.
He explained that his parents were unable to legally document their adoption of Khuloud, partly due to the difficult adoption laws in Sudan, but they took legal guardianship of her instead. This situation does not allow for her to be considered a family member of Canadian citizens and thus does not mean she is included in the evacuation operations executed by Canada and other countries from Sudan.
The Canadian authorities informed him that his sister could apply to come to Canada as a refugee, but six of her children do not have passports. Al-Atabani, who lives in Britain, said, "She cannot reach a third country; she does not have passports and it is impossible for her to leave the country." A spokesperson for the Canadian Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship stated that while the ministry cannot comment on individual cases, Canada has taken measures "to assist Sudanese citizens affected by the conflict."
