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‘Snowden refugees’ call for family reunification in Canada amid coronavirus crisis
- Sri Lankan family that housed American whistle-blower Edward Snowden remains in limbo in Hong Kong
- They hope to build a new life in Canada and see their two children reunited with half-sister Keana, who has been granted refuge there
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From his home in Hong Kong, Supun Thilina Kellapatha has been anxiously following the news coming out of the Canadian city of Montreal. In its province of Quebec alone, there have so far been more than 54,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
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His eight-year-old daughter Keana moved there with her mother Vanessa Rodel in March last year after they were granted asylum. But Kellapatha and his wife Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis – both asylum seekers from Sri Lanka – remain in Hong Kong, along with their two stateless children. They are still waiting for their cases to be processed by the Canadian government.
“I want to take care of all of my children, together,” Kellapatha, 36, says. “I am very worried about my daughter there because of this pandemic, and also because they don’t have any relatives around.”
At the request of their lawyer Robert Tibbo, Kellapatha’s family, Rodel and her daughter, as well as former Sri Lankan soldier Ajith Pushpakumara provided shelter and food to American whistle-blower Edward Snowden when he was hiding in Hong Kong back in 2013.
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The former CIA employee was in the city while on the run after leaking confidential documents that revealed the extent of electronic spying on civilians by the United States and other governments.
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