Runaway Saudi teen finds refuge
● Canada welcomes young woman f leeing abuse in homeland
A “very, very happy” young Saudi woman who caused a sensation by defying her family and seeking asylum abroad was welcomed with open arms in Toronto on Saturday at the end of a dramatic but exhausting international odyssey.
Foreign minister Chrystia Freeland greeted Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun after she landed in Toronto, wearing a gray hoodie emblazoned in red with the word “CANADA” and a blue cap with the logo of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Smiling broadly, the 18year-old posed for photographers with Freeland at her side, but made no statement.
Freeland said al-Qunun wanted “Canadians to see that she’s here, that she’s well and that she is very, very happy to be in her new home”.
Al-Qunun’s lawyer, Francois Zimeray, said he was confident his client would receive financial support from Canadian authorities and nongovernment organisations.
The government and the NGOs would also “do what’s necessary so she can resume the studies she had stopped under pressure from her family”.
Al-Qunun captured world attention with a trail of Twitter posts that ignited a #SaveRahaf movement as she fled what she said was physical and psychological abuse from her family in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia. Rights groups also said she had renounced Islam, risking prosecution in Saudi Arabia.
Her family has denied the abuse allegations.
The publicity thwarted an attempt to deport her to Saudi Arabia after she arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Kuwait a week ago, with Thai authorities instead turning her over to the UN refugee agency.
Then on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the surprise announcement that Canada would welcome her.
Freeland said that in granting al-Qunun asylum, Canada was “standing up for human rights around the world, and we believe strongly that women’s rights are human rights”.
The move is sure to further strain Canada’s relations with the kingdom.
Ties went sideways in August over Ottawa’s rights criticism of Saudi Arabia, prompting Riyadh to expel the Canadian ambassador and sever all trade and investment ties.
Canada also sparked fury in Riyadh by demanding the immediate release of jailed rights campaigners, including Samar Badawi, the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi, whose family lives in Quebec.
Al-Qunun’s attempt to flee Saudi Arabia was embraced by rights groups as a beacon of defiance against repression.
“Ms al-Qunun’s plight has captured the world’s attention over the past few days, providing a glimpse into the precarious situation of millions of refugees worldwide,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
“Refugee protection today is often under threat and cannot always be assured, but in this instance international refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed.”
Raif Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, also praised Canada, calling Freeland on Twitter the real hero behind efforts to prevent al-Qunun’s repatriation to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qunun first said she was aiming for Australia. But late on Friday, Thailand’s immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn said a smiling al-Qunun was bound for Toronto.
“She chose Canada . . . [and] Canada said it will accept her,” Surachate said at Bangkok’s main airport.
In a tweet, the UNHCR said: “We welcome al-Qunun’s arrival in Canada and the Canadian government’s decision to provide protection and a solution for her as a resettled refugee.”
On Friday, al-Qunun posted a cryptic tweet on her profile saying: “I have some good news and some bad news.”
Her account was deactivated shortly afterward in response to death threats, her friends said.
But she was back online later, tweeting: “I would like to thank you people for supporting me and saving my life.
“Truly I have never dreamed of this love and support.”
Al-Qunun’s use of Twitter saw her amass tens of thousands of followers within a week, highlighting her plight at a time when Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is under heavy scrutiny following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.
Her use of social media allowed her to avoid the fate of countless other refugees who are quietly sent back home or left to languish in Bangkok detention centres.
‘. . . international refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed’ Filippo Grandi
UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES