Friday, January 11, 2019

Canada Grants Asylum to Saudi Teen



Rahaf-al-Qunun has left Thailand aboard a Korean Air jetliner en route to asylum in Canada.

A spokesperson for the UNHCR Canada said they could not talk about her case due to “protection reasons.” 
The Global Affairs Canada also said it had no comment on Qunun’s case.

Qunun arrived in Thailand on Saturday and was initially denied entry. She soon started posting messages on Twitter after barricading herself in a room in Bangkok’s airport hotel saying she had “escaped Kuwait” and her life would be in danger if forced to return to Saudi Arabia.
The 18-year-old has said she was fleeing from her family out of fear they would kill her for renouncing Islam, something that is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. 
She also said her family abused her physically and psychologically, at one point locking her in her room for six months after she cut her hair and rebelled against wearing the hijab.
Justin Trudeau, to his credit, takes a sharp stick and pokes it right in the eye of the crown prince, Mohammad bin Sultan. Good for him and good on MbS.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that a wave of Saudi women are fleeing the country.
The phenomenon of women trying to flee Saudi Arabia is not new, coming to the world’s attention as early as the 1970s, when a Saudi princess was caught trying to flee the kingdom with her lover. The couple were tried for adultery and executed. 
But the number of young women considering and taking the enormous risk to flee Saudi Arabia appears to have grown in recent years, rights groups say, as women frustrated by social and legal constraints at home turn to social media to help plan, and sometimes document, their efforts to escape. 

5 comments:

John B. said...

I say help every one of them who so desires to get out. When they have no women they’ll be restricted to scouring the world for misfits and degenerates to produce the future generations that subscribe to their lunacy. Come to think of it, that’s probably why they so insist on keeping them on a leash in the first place. I say the same thing about any other culture or religion with a similar attitude.

Lorne said...

You are right, Mound. Trudeau does deserve credit for this, but the cynic in me whispers that he also sees electoral advantage in admitting her.

Anonymous said...

Putting together an application for permanent residence usually involves a trip to the local consulate for supporting documents. She may not be out Mohammad Bone Sawman's grasp yet.

Cap

Northern PoV said...

Poking the prince with tweets and taking in a (single news-worthy) refugee
while continuing to sell weapons for the slaughter of Yemen,
and not vigorously opposing the same...
Freeland and Jr are simply confused.
No kudos for this.

Northern PoV said...

From twitter,Christine Duhaime,

"An innocent Canadian is now going to be arrested in Saudi Arabia, prosecuted and executed. We threw away a life for a photo op. I don't object to taking in a refugee; I 100% object to the political photo op at the Toronto airport because of what it will cost."

Hey we got those by-elections to work on!