Saudi woman reaches asylum in Canada
TORONTO: Tired but smiling, an 18yearold Saudi woman who said she feared death if deported back home has arrived in Canada, which swept in to offer her asylum after Australia delayed its decision.
‘‘This is Rahaf Alqunun, a very brave new Canadian,’’ Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said arminarm with the Saudi teenager in Toronto’s airport.
Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun smiled broadly as she exited an airport arrival door, capping a dramatic week that saw her flee her family while visiting Kuwait and before flying to Bangkok.
From there, she barricaded herself in an airport hotel to avoid deportation and tweeted about her situation.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would accept Alqunun as a refugee.
Her situation has highlighted the cause of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, where several women fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home.
Freeland said Alqunun preferred not to take questions yesterday.
‘‘She is obviously very tired after a long journey and she preferred to go and get settled,’’ Freeland said.
‘‘But it was Rahaf’s choice to come out and say hello to Canadians. She wanted Canadians to see that she’s here, that she’s well and that she’s very happy to be in her new home.’’
Mario Calla, executive director of COSTI Immigrant Services, said Alqunun had friends in Toronto she would be seeing over the weekend.
‘‘She did comment to me about the cold,’’ Freeland said.
Alqunun flew to Toronto via Seoul, according to Thai immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn.
Earlier, the Australian Government welcomed the news Alqunun was granted asylum in Canada, saying her safety was its primary concern.
The UNHCR reportedly with drew its referral for Alqunun to be resettled in Australia because Canberra was taking too long to decide on her case.
Alqunun was stopped on January 5 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport by immigration police, who denied her entry and seized her passport.
She barricaded herself in an airport hotel room, where her social media campaign got enough public and diplomatic support that Thai officials admitted her temporarily under the protection of UN officials, who granted her refugee status last Wednesday.
Surachate said her father denied abusing Alqunun or trying to force her into an arranged marriage, which were among the reasons she gave for her flight. — AP