Asylum seekers who sheltered Edward Snowden embrace new life in Canada after ‘living in hell’ in Hong Kong
- Vanessa Mae Rodel and her seven-year-old daughter touch down in Toronto with plans to settle in Montreal
- Five other asylum seekers remain in Hong Kong, hoping Canada will accept their refugee claims
“I can’t believe it. I feel free and safe,” said Vanessa Mae Rodel, one of the asylum seekers who sheltered American whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong, just a few hours after she arrived in Canada.
She and her seven-year-old daughter, Keana, landed in Toronto on Monday afternoon after being recognised as refugees by the Canadian government, and they are now planning to settle down in Montreal.
“We can finally start a new life,” Rodel told the Post. “I am so happy that my dream came true and that they accepted us.”
This is the end of a long chapter for the two, but five other asylum seekers – three adults and two children – who also helped Snowden in 2013 still remain in Hong Kong.
“I have lived in depression, worrying a lot about Hong Kong police and Hong Kong immigration … I am looking forward to being in a less discriminatory environment,” said Rodel, who had filed an appeal in Hong Kong after her protection claim in the city was rejected in 2017.
