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TITLE: CANADA / IRAQI REFUGEE BOY
TRT: 3:36
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTION: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / KURDISH / NATS
DATELINE:
11 AUGUST 2017, SEENO VILLAGE, DOHUK GOVERNORATE, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ / 17-18 AUGUST 2017, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA
17 AUGUST 2017, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA
1. Wide shot, sunset at International Airport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
2. SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Nofa, Emad’s mother and resettled Iraqi refugee:
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, I’m very excited but I’m very nervous, I don't know what I’m going to do when I see him. We’ll see.”
3. Close up, picture of Emad
4. Close up, Nofa crying
5. Wide shot, airplane arriving at the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
6. SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Nofa, Emad’s mother and resettled Iraqi refugee:
“I’m going to give him a big kiss on the cheek”
7. Various shots, Emad arriving to reception room to meet family and friends
8. UPSOUND (Kurdish) Producer:
“And how do you feel now that you saw your mom?”
9. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Emad, resettled Iraqi refugee:
“I’m very happy.”
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR Canada Representative:
“This reunification shows that there is always hope and that when people are fleeing persecution we need the international community and countries like Canada, need to find them a safe place.”
11. Close up, Emad smiling
11 AUGUST 2017, SEENO VILLAGE, DOHUK GOVERNORATE, KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
12. Various of Emad getting onto tracker
13. Various shots, Emad walking with uncle
14. SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Hadi Tammo, Emad’s Uncle:
“When Emad first talked to his mother they were both very happy. It was like Emad was waking up from a grave. He was almost dead. He had been injured in the stomach. But for his mom, she was just very happy, it was like Emad was reborn.”
15. Various shots, Emad on computer and putting it away
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Webster, UNHCR Resettlement Expert:
“For UNHCR, family unity is one of the most important principles for us. The family provides a really important support network for people who have been through things like Emad has been through.”
18 AUGUST 2017, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA
17. Various Emad with playing with relatives
18. Wide shot, Emad on the couch with his mom
19. UPSOUND (Kurdish) Producer:
“Do you like Canada?”
20. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Emad, resettled Iraqi refugee:
“Yes. it’s really nice here. The weather is great here, everything is great here.”
21. Various shots, Emad’s children relatives
22. SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Nofa, Emad’s mother and resettled Iraqi refugee:
“I want him to be healthy, I want him to be happy and I want him to be able to go wherever he wants to freely.”
23. Wide shot, Emad laughing with his mother on the couch
Nofa is waiting to see her son for the first time in three years.
It’s a reunion of a lifetime.
SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Nofa, Emad’s mother and resettled Iraqi refugee:
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, I’m very excited but I’m very nervous, I don't know what I’m going to do when I see him. We’ll see.”
SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Nofa, Emad’s mother and resettled Iraqi refugee:
“I’m going to give him a big kiss on the cheek”
UPSOUND (Kurdish) Producer: “And how do you feel now that you saw your mom?”
SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Emad, resettled Iraqi refugee:
“I’m very happy.”
The smiles mask Emad’s terrifying journey out of Iraq.
In 2014, Emad and his family were among 6,000 Yazidis abducted by extremists in Sinjar, Iraq.
Last year his mother and siblings escaped, but Emad wasn’t so lucky.
He had to spend another year in captivity before finding freedom.
With the help of UNHCR, last month he was reunited with his uncle.
And was able to contact his mother, now living in Canada, for the first time in so long.
SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Hadi Tammo, Emad’s uncle:
“When Emad first talked to his mother they were both very happy. It was like Emad was waking up from a grave. He was almost dead. He had been injured in the stomach. But for his mom, she was just very happy, it was like Emad was reborn.”
Plans were made for the mother and son to reunite in person.
SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR Canada Representative:
“This reunification shows that there is always hope and that when people are fleeing persecution we need the international community and countries like Canada.”
UNHCR, along with the Canadian government, facilitated Emad’s relocation to Canada’s Manitoba province.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Webster, UNHCR Resettlement Expert:
“For UNHCR, family unity is one of the most important principles for us. The family provides a really important support network for people who have been through things like Emad has been through.”
Now safe with his family, Emad is adjusting to life outside of captivity.
In Iraq, he was forced to speak Arabic. Communicating in Kurdish again is sometimes a challenge.
But for this family, the most important language is love.
UPSOUND (Kurdish) Producer: “Do you like Canada?”
SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Emad, resettled Iraqi refugee:
“Yes, it’s really nice here. The weather is great here, everything is great here. I really, really like it”
For the first time in years, Emad can begin to let go of the past, and focus on the future.
SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji Kurdish) Nofa, Emad’s mother and resettled Iraqi refugee:
“I want him to be healthy, I want him to be happy and I want him to be able to go wherever he wants to freely.”
