As of November 2024, OCRA has 8 sponsorship applications at various stages of the Government’s refugee processing and approval process. Another 6 applications are currently in preparation. All of these private sponsorship applications are being undertaken with either the United Church or the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.
Afghanistan/Iran – Family of 5
This sponsorship, which was originally for a single young woman, age 21, has now been expanded to include her parents and siblings. The family was forced to flee with to Iran when the Taliban took over because her father had been engaged in legal work for international agencies. With OCRA’s help, this sponsorship was initially organized and funded by a group of young people in Ottawa, all of whom are themselves former refugees. We were successful in having her application expedited under the “Operation Afghan Safety” process. We are working with the Cybec Foundation in Australia to keep this family together and sponsor the parents and two siblings in addition to our initial applicant. We have been approved at the sponsorship level and are currently awaiting a refugee determination by the Canadian Embassy visa office in Ankara. Were are grateful to have received funding from the Cybec Foundation in Australia to enable us to bring the entire family to Canada.
Cost of this sponsorship: $57,940
Syria/Jordan – Mother and 2 children / Son and family of 4
In December 2021, we prepared applications to sponsor and for refugee status on behalf of a mother and two children from Syria, currently in Irbid, Jordan, and for her son and his family. The father of the family was taken by Syrian intelligence officials in 2012 and has not been heard from since. The mother helped her brothers and sisters and their families shelter in Damascus during the bombing of the southern suburbs. She then fled to Jordan where she again helped to shelter her extended family. The applications were submitted to the Government in January 2023. We are now waiting for the necessary refugee determinations by the Canadian Embassy Visa Office in Amman, Jordan. The cost of these sponsorships has increased from $60,000 to $80,300 because of the length of time taken to process the applications.
Anticipated cost: $ 80,300
Syria/Jordan – Family of 9 – parents and 7 children
We are assisting with the sponsorship of this family, originally from Syria, with close relatives in Ottawa. Conditions for refugees in Jordan have deteriorated greatly. Like many other refugees, the father lost his employment and the family has been forced to rely on charity from UNHCR and relatives. The application was submitted to the United Church in September 2022 and filed with the Federal Government in December 2022. Approval of the sponsorship application was obtained in March 2023 and we are awaiting refugee determination by the Canadian Embassy Visa Office in Amman, Jordan. The cost of this sponsorship has increased by 30% due to the length of time taken to process the applications.
Cost of this sponsorship: $ 84,600
Afghanistan/Pakistan – Brother and Sister
This brother and sister, aged 30 and 31, fled to Pakistan in November 2022 after facing serious threats of imminent arrest in Afghanistan. The sister is a math teacher who continued to teach her female students from her home after the Taliban takeover. She was eventually forced to flee to Pakistan Her brother was a volunteer leader in NGO programs to empower marginalized youth and an advocate on youth-oriented issued in his district as well as being active in a local Human Rights Defender network. Following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, he was the target of an intensive search which resulted in the detention of other family members. In November 2022, he eventually escaped to Pakistan, where he and his sister remain in hiding due to police action against Afghan refugees. The applications were submitted to the Government in January 2024, and sponsorship approval was received in July 2024. We are waiting for the refugee determinations to be made by the Canadian Embassy Visa Office in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Cost of this sponsorship: $ 38,140
Afghanistan/Pakistan – 3 young People age 20 -23
These sponsorships are for three young people forced to flee Afghanistan ahead of arrests and serious threats. The young woman was hunted by the Taliban for attending an underground school for girls, walking outside with fellow students without wearing a burka, and attending a demonstration for International Women’s Day. She fled with her twin brother, also threatened because of his family’s support for Hazara rights. The third young man we ae seeking to sponsor was forced to flee to Iran, then Pakistan, after the Taliban killed his father.
Cost of this sponsorship: $54,000
Afghanistan/Pakistan – 3 Brothers
These 3 applications are for brothers who worked in Afghanistan as police officers and in a well-known organization involved in defence of human rights. They fled to Iran in early 2021 after Taliban searches and questioning of their relatives. They were forced to return to Afghanistan after Iran began deporting Afghans. On return, they were arrested. They managed to escape to Pakistan. OCRA is ssisting their brother, who arrived in Canada earlier, to sponsor his brothers. We are seeking to secure “application space” that will permit us to submit these applications to the Government in 2025.
Anticipated cost of these sponsorships: $45,000