11-year-old Syrian boy reunites with parents in Saskatoon after 6 years apart - Action News
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Saskatchewan

11-year-old Syrian boy reunites with parents in Saskatoon after 6 years apart

Adnan Kharsa, 11, was separated from his parents during the Syrian civil war in 2017. While he arrived in Canada in 2021, his parents and little sister were stuck in Turkey. After more than six years apart, the boy finally reunited with his family in Saskatoon this week.

Adnan Kharsa hugged his little sister for the first time at Saskatoon airport on Wednesday

Parents pose with their 11-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter. The girl holds a teddy bear and flowers. The father cries.
The Kharsa family poses for their first-ever photo as a family. Adnan Kharsa, 11, was separated from his parents by the Syrian war in 2017. His sister, Sham, 5, wasn't born until a year later. They posed for this family photo after reuniting at Saskatoon International Airport on Wednesday. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

Eleven-year-old Adnan Kharsa wore a blue suit with a bow tie to the Saskatoon airport tosee his parents for the first time in six years.

The Syrian boy stood nervously at the arrivals gate Wednesday afternoon, clutching a teddy bear and a bouquet of flowers for his five-year-old sister, whom he'd never met in person.

Adnan, who was separated from his parentsby the Syrian civil war in 2017, has been living with his grandmother inSaskatoon since 2021, while the rest of his family was stuck in Turkey.

When Adnan's father, Manhal Kharsa, spotted his son in the airport, he began to run and sob openly. He held Adnan as if he'd never let him go again.

"It was exciting. It was hard to not cry, but I couldn't hold it," Adnansaid.

WATCH| This Syrian refugee is reuniting with family after being apart for years:

This Syrian refugee is reuniting with family after being apart for years

1 year ago
Duration 0:34

His father was unabashedly overcome.

"I feel like I am born at this moment," Manhal said in Arabic, with English translations from his brother. "It was a dream, and unbelievable, to meet my son again."

In July 2017, as the Syrian war raged on, Adnan's parents sent him to Malaysia with his grandmother to escape the violence for a few months.

But then, his parents and grandfather were forced to flee Syria to Turkey with no passportsand little money. They had no way to reunite with Adnan and his grandmother.

The couple gave birth to a little girl in Turkey, but Manhal said he cried for his son every night.

Boy holds teddy bear and flowers at airport.
Adnan Kharsa brought a teddy bear and flowers to the airport to meet his five-year-old sister for the first time in-person. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)
Parents hug son at airport.
Adnan's parents hug him at the Saskatoon airport on Wednesday. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

In 2021, Adnan's extended family in Saskatoonled by his aunt, Doha Kharsa,and a volunteer group called Moms for Refugeesmanaged to privately sponsor the boy, his grandmother and his uncle.

Moms for Refugees organizer Kyla Avis said the group knew it had to raise more money another $35,000 to reunite Adnan with his parents and sister. TheMennonite Central Committee, which has acontract with Ottawa to sponsor and settle refugees, helped submit the application.

The family was warned they could wait two to three years due to ahuge backlog of immigration and refugee cases, partly due to the pandemic, as well as logistical delays on the ground in Turkey and high demand from other countries, such as Ukraine.

In early September, Avis learned the family would be arriving in two weeks. Volunteers scrambled to find a rental property, furniture, clothing and other essentials.The private sponsors cover the family's expenses.

Three women stand together at the aiport.
Doha Kharsa, right, has spearheaded the private sponsorship of several of her family members to Canada, including her mother, Jamila Badwe, on the left. They've been assisted by a local group of volunteers called Moms for Refugees, led by Kyla Avis, centre. (Bonnie Allen/CBC )

The tight rental market proved challenging. Avis couldn'tfind a house within their budget and in Adnan's current neighborhood, so he'll have to change schools.

"That was the biggest piece of the puzzle," Avis said.

"This was the worst rental experience I've had, just in terms of the limited availability, the demand, the concerns over having a sponsorship group or an immigrant/refugee family, and helping landlords understandwhat that meant.

"It was a really big challenge."

But all worth it, she said, to see the family reunited.

Boy hugs sister.
Adnan hugs his little sister, Sham, for the first time. She was born in Turkey, while Adnan was in Malaysia en route to Canada. Now together in Saskatoon, Adnan is excited to teach her English. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

"Fundraising is always hard and it's a lot of work, and the paperwork is a long process, but this is the day you always wait for and hope for. And it's just so exciting and it's so gratifying,"she said.

Moving forward

Along with Adnan's parents and sister, his grandfather also arrived in Saskatoon on Wednesday and was reunited with his wife.

"At their age, it was very hard to be separated," said Doha Kharsa, their daughter.

9-year-old boy with red sweatshirt and brown hair holds up cellphone with smiling face of his father.
In early 2022, CBC News visited Adnan, then nine years old, at his Saskatoon home and recorded a video chat between the boy and his father, Manhal Kharsa, in Turkey. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

She's excited to have her family safe and all together, but is also realistic about the challenges ahead.

She arrived in Saskatoon as a government-sponsored refugee in 2014 after being separated from her husband and son. She knows first-hand the difficulties of reconnecting with loved ones after long periods apart, while dealing with culture shock in a new country.

"We're nervous about that. It's been many years. We have to get to know each other once again," she said.

Photo of a father, mother, and little girl.
For years, Adnan treasured this photograph of his parents and his little sister together in Turkey. Until Wednesday, he'd only met his sister by video chat. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

Adnan's parents were excited to tour their new home, but unwilling to stray too far from their son.

When it came time to puttheir shoes onto go for a family meal, Adnan's mother bent down totie her son's shoes, as she would have done for him when she last saw him six years ago. Now 11, Adnanindulged her.

The boy told CBC News that a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

"I don't have to worry about anything anymore," he said.

large group photo
The extended Kharsa family welcomes more members of their family to Canada. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

His sister is expected to start kindergarten soon, and his parents will begin language classes.

When asked what's next, his fathersaid:

"Idon't want anything more. Not one single thing."