Wilkie family returns to Egypt after immigration woes

CBC News

Posted: Jul 15, 2013 11:45 AM ET

Last Updated: Jul 15, 2013 11:43 AM ET

 

A Hamilton man determined to fight his wife's deportation to Egypt has moved his family to the Mideast country.

Ian Wilkie, who fought the deportation of wife Wafaa Abdou back to Egypt, took a direct one-way flight to Cairo with his children on Saturday.

Ian Wilkie speaks at a rally for his wife, Wafaa Abdou, in Hamilton in April. (Cory Ruf/CBC)

"Due to continuing harassment, perceived lack of security here in Hamilton, and his wife's unwillingness to return to Canada, Mr. Wilkie decided to take his three children with him to Egypt," says a statement from the Reunite Wilkie Family Committee. The committee held a May fundraiser to try to bring Abdou back to Canada.

Instead, the committee says, it used that money to pay for flights for Wilkie and his children (Fatima, 6, Yusuf, 8, and Zaynab, 11) to Egypt.

Wilkie, a Hamilton native, was working as an English teacher in Egypt in 2000 when he met Abdou, who was his next-door neighbour. They married in 2001. Wilkie's work took the family to Syria.

The three children of Wafaa Abdou hold her picture in Hamilton earlier this year. (Supplied)

The family lived in Damascus until June 2011, when they fled political strife and violence. When they arrived in Canada, Abdou applied for refugee status. Wilkie described what followed as months of intimidation and confusion. MP David Christopherson's office looked into the case.

Abdou was held in Rexdale for months before she was deported on April 27. A group of community members rallied around the family.

The local group will stay in touch with the Wilkies and monitor their safety in Egypt, the statement said.

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