Winnipeg family of 4 on holiday in Kuwait ‘hoping to escape’ as war widens in Middle East | CBC News
Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
A family of four from Winnipeg on holiday in Kuwait are waiting in fear as they try to return home from the Middle East.
Aya Al Habrawi, Abdullah Ollivierre, their five-month old daughter and three-year-old son travelled from Manitoba to Kuwait in February to celebrate Ramadan and planned to head home in the coming weeks.
They’re trying desperately to find a way out now ahead of schedule amid a widening war.
“We’re just hoping to escape as soon as we can,” Al Habrawi told CBC News on Thursday.
“We just want to bring our children home safely,” Ollivierre said. “Every day we wake up for the last couple days, the sound of sirens going off … indicating that there’s approaching danger.”
Kuwait has become a target for Iranian retaliation to U.S. and Israeli strikes. Strikes were reported at the airport in Kuwait last weekend.
Footage that surfaced Friday showed smoke and flames rising from an air base in Kuwait used as a U.S. hub for getting support into the region.
Ollivierre said the family contacted the Canadian embassy in Kuwait, the emergency watch and response centre in Ottawa and registered with the federal government.
Ollivierre said the only recommendation they’ve received as of Thursday was to try to evacuate by land via Saudi Arabia. That would require them to pay out of pocket for Saudi visas, transportation and flights home.
“The response we received was essentially, ‘You’re on your own.’ They told us to prepare contingency plans that don’t rely on the government of Canada,” Ollivierre said.
“You can imagine, this cost thousands of dollars for a family of four. We shouldn’t have to pay our way out of a war zone.”
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Friday that thousands of Canadians have asked for help getting out of the Middle East.
“My team is sourcing all means of transportation to leave the region as a whole,” she told media.
Global Affairs Canada continues to ask people not to travel to the region. The agency also says people in the Middle East should stay vigilant and follow instructions of local authorities at all times.
Ollivierre and Al Habrawi are hoping the federal government can arrange a shuttle to take Canadians in Kuwait to the nearest available air base to fly them home.
“We’re trying to follow the news, and we’re seeing other countries are actively evacuating their citizens,” Ollivierre said.
“We’re just asking the Canadian government to organize evacuation flights, provide [help departing] for Canadian families stranded in Kuwait — especially families with children.”
A Winnipeg family visiting relatives in Kuwait had their trip interrupted by war. They’re now doing everything they can to get out of the country, as Iran ramps up attacks on U.S. allies in the Gulf region.