Palestinian man’s cancer diagnosis reunites family
Taha El Taha is set to undergo major surgery Wednesday for Stage 4 colorectal cancer.
But his spirits are up — and so is the prognosis — with the arrival of his wife and two children in Montreal Monday night.
El Taha, a stateless Palestinian who crossed into Canada from the United States via Roxham Rd. in December, discovered in the days that followed that he had very advanced cancer.
He has since been through six rounds of chemotherapy, recovering after each round all alone in his St-Laurent apartment.
He tried to bring his wife and two young children to Canada to give him moral and material support, but his application was refused.
His family could not prove they had the means to support themselves or that they would leave the country when their visa expired, the rejection letter stated.
But after a report in the Montreal Gazette, readers wrote to the immigration minister, Ahmed Hussen, and to their members of Parliament to urge the government to reconsider El Taha’s circumstances. A petition was posted on Avaaz, which received 300 signatures. Money was collected to offer as a guarantee of support for the family and to pay for their plane tickets.
On May 10, El Taha applied for a special minister’s permit for temporary residence for his family. A week later, the Canadian embassy in Beirut then granted them a fourmonth visa so they can be with him in Canada before and after his surgery.
Amani, Ahmad, 7, and Tala, 3, arrived Monday night.
“It’s a big relief — I’ve never felt so happy for someone I helped,” said Rami Alsaqqa, the immigration consultant who helped El Taha navigate the process and put up some of his own money to support the family.
“We said we know why a family like his would be rejected. But please consider the humanitarian aspect of his case. They are coming because Taha needs someone to care for him. This way he will be less of a burden on the healthcare system with his own wife caring for him instead of a 24-hour nurse.”
El Taha’s oncologist and surgeon at the MUHC both wrote letters to the government, stating that they believe his family’s presence will have a beneficial effect on his health. El Taha is expected to stay at the MUHC for four days following the operation.
Alsaqqa got personally involved in the case, which he has taken on pro bono, because he felt what happened to El Taha was unfair.
“We have the luxury to go back to our wives and kids at the end of the day and live normally,” Alsaqqa said.
“God forbid if something happens to us, we will have people around us. But Taha came here and had no one.”
Reached at home in Montreal, where children’s laughter could be heard in the background, El Taha said he is nervous about the surgery Wednesday, but he is confident that with his family by his side he will have the strength to fight the cancer.
“It’s an emotional time. I hugged them and cried when I saw them. They have changed a lot,” El Taha said. “They know tomorrow is my operation and they said ‘we miss you and we hope you stay with us now for a long time.’ ”