By Angela Hill

Afridi family reunited in Saskatoon

May 19, 2015 | 2:39 PM

The middle of Sunday night marked the end of a five-year long struggle for a Saskatoon couple to adopt their child from Pakistan.

Waheeda Afridi arrived at the Saskatoon airport on a flight from Toronto with her husband and their son Ajjab.

A confusion over dates meant Waheeda and Ajjab arrived in Canada a day before anyone expected her, then her husband flew out to bring his family home.

“She was kind of disappointed because it was completely quiet, she was expecting friends would be there, I would be there, but nobody,” said Haidah Amirzadeh, an immigration lawyer, who has been working on the case pro bono. 

“I was expecting her to be here Wednesday.”

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Waheeda was initially supposed to spend a couple of days in Toronto before connecting to Saskatoon.

“Her husband surprised her and went to Toronto,” said Amirzadeh.

Amirzadeh has had the opportunity to speak with Waheeda. 

“She is still feeling pretty weak and vulnerable, but she is very happy.” she said.

“I could hear Ajjab laughing in the background and it’s very obvious that he was running around and being excited … I have never heard that before. Any time I had talked to them while they were there there was always the sound of discomfort in the background rather than a happy, cheery little boy running around.”

Waheeda does want to speak to the public, and to John Gormley Live, the show that has pushed for years to cut though the red tape that prevented the easy adoption of Ajjab.

“She is looking forward to have the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to everybody,” said Amirzadeh.

The struggle isn’t completely over as eventually they will need to apply for Ajjab to gain Canadian citizenship, but for now Amirzadeh said she wants to help the family settle in Saskatoon.

“I’m excited actually, to help [Waheeda] get on her feet again because she was away from Canada for five years while she was really flourishing and establishing herself in Canada and all of a sudden she had to go backwards and stay somewhere trapped,” she said.

“The main thing is for the little boy to get adjusted and go to school in the coming September.”

Timeline:

Sept. 10, 2010 – Ajjab is born in Peshawar, Pakistan to Waheeda’s sister. The Afridi family signs paperwork to assume guardianship of Ajjab. A sponsorship application is initiated.

Sept. 6, 2012 – Ajjab is refused permanent residency.

Oct. 9, 2012 – Afridi family appeals permanent residency decision. Appeal is refused because immigration office wants letter of no objection from provincial government.

January 2013 – Afridi family applies for temporary resident visa for Ajjab, which is refused.

March 2013 – Afridi family re-applies for temporary resident visa, but is refused again.

June 2013 – Afridi family applies to the High Commission of Canada in Islamabad, Pakistan for temporary resident permit.

July 2013 – Ottawa puts a hold on accepting adoptions from Pakistan

July 23, 2013 – Officer refuses Ajjab’s application for a temporary resident permit.

June 5, 2014 – Saskatchewan signs letter of no objection.

July 2014 – Ottawa looks for clarification from the government of Saskatchewan on their stance regarding adoptions from Pakistan. The province responds to Ottawa’s request.

October 14, 2014 – Appeal hearing decision rules in Ajjab’s favour. The case is sent back to the visa post for further processing. The decision states he should be given a visa, pending admissibility issues.

December 2014 – Waheeda and Ajjab visit a hospital near the Taliban massacre at a school is Peshawar.

February 2015 – Waheeda and Ajjab are interviewed by Canadian Embassy in Islamabad. Ajjab undergoes a medical assessment.

May 17, 2015 – Waheed and Ajjab arrive in Saskatoon.

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