Name: Wissam Abu Jaida and his family

Profile: Refugees from Iraq, living in Thailand since 2013.

Advantages: UN-certified, Wissam’s two sons and daughter have good English skills.

Risk: At risk of being disappeared or killed by militias if returned home (Iraq).

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Wissam and his family were threatened by militias to leave their home, so they became asylum refugees. They have been living in Thailand since 2013. Wissam’s sons and a daughter dream of studying at university but it is not possible until they do not get resettled in a country like Canada. Their hope now is to find a group of Canadian friends who can bring them to Canada where they can live a life they have always been dreaming of.

Dangerous Situation in Baghdad

Wissam Abu Jaida was born on August 20, 1974 in Baghdad, Iraq. His life was going well, but in 2006, everything changed when he was threatened by militias to leave his home or else, he and his family would be killed by them. However, Wissam left his home and started living in another area of Baghdad. Wissam witnessed many innocent people being killed and arrested by militias. It was time for him to leave Baghdad. He and his family went to Al-Waleed Refugee Camp which was located on the border with Syria.

Opportunity Lost

He stayed for 2 years in the refugee camp and he was considered to be resettled to the United States of America by the UNHCR. In 2008, Almost all of his work process was done for his and his family’s resettlement. They even got their security approval and were waiting for the next step, but Wissam’s wife had been suffering from Asthma and her condition worsened. The medical facilities were not enough inside the camp and Wissam could not take her wife to Baghdad for her treatment. He had to take her to Syria.

“It was the only choice left for me.”

After coming to Syria for her wife’s treatment, Wissam lost the opportunity of being resettled in the USA. He and his family then migrated to Cyprus where they were not granted asylum. Later on, they migrated to Thailand on September 7, 2013 and registered themselves with the UNHCR on September 9.

Thailand

“We suffered a lot in the beginning. We were considered illegal in the country and used to evade the immigration police.”

After two years, Wissam and his family got their refugee status from the UNHCR. Since then, they have not heard anything about their process of being resettled by the UNHCR. Wissam’s wife is still suffering from Asthma. On the other hand, the UNHCR still cannot protect them from the immigration police who do not let them work to support themselves. Wissam’s children have been deprived of getting proper education too. His two sons Hamza and Abdul Rahman and daughter Reema, dream of studying at university one day in the future. His son, Hamza’s passion is to be a professional bodybuilder and he regularly does workout, but he cannot compete in any competition as a refugee.

Only Option!

Their only option is to be resettled in a country like Canada.

As UNHCR refugees, Wissam and his family are eligible for Canada’s private sponsorship program. They need a group of five Canadian friends to support them.

To help support Wissam as a sponsor, please contact Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Wissam’s son Hamza, directly on Facebook.

Reach out and discover how wonderful it is to privately sponsor a good family to start a new life – with your help – in Canada!

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