By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
On Friday our host featured an article depicting the plight of Saudi Arabian National Rahaf al-Qunun who fled to Thailand to escape what she described as religious persecution for apostasy. Ms. al-Qunun renounced Islam and refused to submit to the state’s discriminatory practices toward women.
Her asylum pleading for many seemed a prima facie case, given apostasy is punishable up to and including the death penalty and Canada swiftly approved her petition upon her arrival.
BBC News reports Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia as a “very brave new Canadian who…has been through a lot.”
Her case attracted the attention of Prime Minister Trudeau who stated that his government after receiving a request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees formally granted asylum.
al-Qunun attracted media attention after refusing to leave her hotel room in Bangkok after authorities sought her removal. Her family arranged to meet her in Kuwait. Her social media posts to friends and others attracted the quick attention of Human Rights Watch and various journalists who in part contacted the UN and arranged a meeting. She arrived in Canada on Saturday.
While I am glad that she found refuge in a nation willing to allow her basic human liberty, it is in some ways a sad testament to how high-profile applicants and interested politicians can arrange for quick resolutions while there are hundreds of thousands of other human beings left in limbo for years or more, simply because they have no audience or political patrons.
By Darren Smith
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.