Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun says she was fleeing an abusive home in Saudi Arabia and planning to make her way to Australia when she was stopped in a Bangkok airport and detained by authorities who planned to return her to her family.
But now the 18-year-old is under UN protection in Thailand and seeking asylum, stating her family punished her for things as minor as cutting her hair and she wants to leave them, her country, and her Islamic religion.
Mohammed had been held by authorities in an airport hotel room while they awaited her father, but she barricaded herself inside and took to social media to broadcast live updates of her ordeal. She made direct appeals to people around the world, including Toronto Sun columnist Tarek Fatah, who spun into action and advocated for the young woman.
“Fortunately, the pressure of ordinary citizens using social media saved the life of Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun who is today free and may soon be in Canada as our beloved fellow citizen, sister and daughter,” Fatah wrote in his latest column.
It now seems more likely that she will be granted refugee status in Australia after all, but Canada was her other request.
“I want Canada to give me asylum!” she tweeted during what was the late hours of Monday night here in Canada.
While the particulars of her story are unconfirmed, Mohammed certainly seems a model case for refugee status. She renounced Islam, which is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Likewise the case of Asia Bibi, who faced violent protests after being acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan after initially having been sentenced to death. The Christian woman had faced unsubstantiated accusations of insulting the Prophet Mohammad and the Quran.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was right to speak out in Bibi’s defence and say we would do what we could for her. At present, Bibi is apparently still in Pakistan but in a safe place.
These are just two examples of individuals who face imprisonment, punishment and even death because of their beliefs or lifestyles, and Canada does and should continue to welcome those fleeing intolerance, oppression and harm. That doesn’t mean our border is meaningless. It means we must use our hearts and our heads when offering sanctuary to those in need.
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