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Canada grants refugee status to some asylum-seekers who hid Edward Snowden in Hong Kong
Source: Vancouver Sun
Canada grants refugee status to some asylum-seekers who hid Edward Snowden in Hong Kong
But others who helped Snowden still waiting for a decision from Canada on refugee status, with one 'unraveling' mentally and hospitalized
TOM BLACKWELL Updated: March 25, 2019
HONG KONG — Vanessa Rodel was so afraid to believe the news, she asked her lawyer to repeat it, five times.
But each time, the message she had longed to hear was exactly the same, and each time it was every bit as momentous: Rodel, a Filipino national, and her seven-year-old daughter Keana would finally be leaving Hong Kong for a new life thousands of kilometres away in Canada, ending a decade of suspended animation here that was punctuated by their unexpected role in one of the century’s biggest news stories.
The pair boarded a flight to Toronto Monday, granted refugee status by the Canada six tense years after they themselves provided refuge to American whistleblower Edward Snowden, a contractor for a U.S. spy-agency who in 2013 became the world’s most wanted man after leaking details of U.S. mass-surveillance programs.
Their acceptance marks the first breakthrough for a Canadian team trying to help the three asylum-seeking families who hid Snowden, and who believe they have been harassed and targeted for deportation as a result.
-snip-
But others who helped Snowden still waiting for a decision from Canada on refugee status, with one 'unraveling' mentally and hospitalized
TOM BLACKWELL Updated: March 25, 2019
HONG KONG — Vanessa Rodel was so afraid to believe the news, she asked her lawyer to repeat it, five times.
But each time, the message she had longed to hear was exactly the same, and each time it was every bit as momentous: Rodel, a Filipino national, and her seven-year-old daughter Keana would finally be leaving Hong Kong for a new life thousands of kilometres away in Canada, ending a decade of suspended animation here that was punctuated by their unexpected role in one of the century’s biggest news stories.
The pair boarded a flight to Toronto Monday, granted refugee status by the Canada six tense years after they themselves provided refuge to American whistleblower Edward Snowden, a contractor for a U.S. spy-agency who in 2013 became the world’s most wanted man after leaking details of U.S. mass-surveillance programs.
Their acceptance marks the first breakthrough for a Canadian team trying to help the three asylum-seeking families who hid Snowden, and who believe they have been harassed and targeted for deportation as a result.
-snip-
Read more: https://vancouversun.com/news/canada/canada-grants-refugee-status-to-some-asylum-seekers-who-hid-edward-snowden-in-hong-kong/wcm/5a275ac2-d75e-44db-9c52-6462fa66498c
