Zaghla, seen here with a banner demanding that Emad be brought home, has been in Canada for about seven months.
Khalil Hesso, president of Yazidi Association of Manitoba, told BuzzFeed Canada that about 40 people from the small Yazidi community in Winnipeg will be at the airport to welcome Emad home. He said Emad’s story is not unique among Yazidis, whose mass killing and enslavement by ISIS has been recognized as an act of genocide by the United Nations. But it’s still a ray of hope for the many other families torn apart by the war.
“Everybody is happy, everybody appreciates what the Canadian government is doing,” he said.
A fundraiser for the family has also raised thousands of dollars to help them rebuild their lives in Canada.
Hesso also said the joy the family feels at being reunited will be tempered by the knowledge that Emad’s father and one of his brothers are still missing, and by the time spent apart.
“At first when they land, it’s going to be a little bit sad,” Hesso said. “That’s three years he was away from his mom and his brothers.”