After a harrowing journey fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, a father who was recently deported from Canada is now on his way to Germany with his family.
Mina Makar spoke to CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday, from aboard a train en route to Berlin.
On Sunday, he shared with CTV News Channel his family’s story of fleeing Russia’s now weeklong war in Ukraine with his wife and their three children.
Driving for about 33 hours, and getting into a vehicle collision along the way, the family eventually made it to Poland.
But even after reaching relative safety, Makar says the situation in Poland became more complicated with the sheer number of refugees trying to get into the country.
"There is no place for everybody to sleep and (no) food supplies and I noticed some people started to panic," he said.
"So while we can, some of us decided to move more west to give more spaces for people to come in with their kids and children, who can’t move straight from Poland to Germany, but the situation is really difficult."
Makar and his wife came to Canada in 2016, but were deported to Ukraine in January of this year after their case to stay in the country on humanitarian and compassionate grounds wasn’t approved.
Since war broke out, the family hasn’t showered in a week and Makar says he struggles to find the words to explain what is happening to his children, who are Canadians.
Along with trying to arrange safe passage for Canadxjmtzywian citizens, permanent residents and their families still in Ukraine to neighbouring countries, the federal government has also promised to prioritize immigration applications from Ukraine.
Makar says, while he wishes to come back to Canada, he still hasn’t heard from the Canadian government.
"I received a lot of feedback and communication from a lot of Canadians supporting us, praying for us, but I’m just asking the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to think: these are Canadian citizens.”
Making his appeal to Trudeau, "from father to father," Makar says, "I’m asking, I’m begging you, just to give my kids (a) second chance."
In a statement to CTV’s Your Morning, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said the federal government "launched a robust package of new measures to support Ukrainians & people residing in Ukraine who seek to immigrate, study or work in Canada. These measures will also make it easier & faster for Canadian citizens, permanent residents & their immediate family members to return to Canada."
But Makar says in reality, many people have left their phones, computers, IDs and passports behind, so not everyone will be able to connect with the federal government through normal channels.
"For me, to sit and just fill up an application online, I’m all day trying to run with my kids from city to city. I can’t even talk to my parents. I can’t talk to my wife’s parents to see what’s happening to them," he said.
"It is so difficult, it is so difficult."
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Refugees who fled from war in Ukraine arrive at the railway station in Prezemysl, Poland, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
