A family is reunited after a decade of separation, and one family member is now calling Winnipeg home after living in a refugee camp for 40 years.

Omar Rahimi arrived in Canada in December of 2001 from a refugee camp where has was born and lived in for 18 years.

His family never left the refugee camp they had been forced to settle in after a war between Iran and Iraq forced them and 40,000 Kurds to move. They landed in the middle of the desert on the other side of the country. 

"It can be very hard waiting for answers, but when you hear the news, you jump for joy!"

Rahimi lived there for more than 18 years before someone from Canada came and was able to bring him and his immediate family to Winnipeg. 

Rahimi's wife was not able to come and was forced to stay behind in Iraq. In 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq, Rahimi lost contact with his wife.

She finally arrived in 2009 but had to leave her own parents behind. 

Rahimi knew he had to bring his in-laws to Canada and out of the turmoil in Iraq.

With the help of Portage Avenue Church, they began the process of sponsorship. 

Two years ago the paperwork for his in-laws' arrival was filled out, says Rahimi. Ahmad Palani, Rahimi's father-in-law arrived on November 6, 2019.

Rahimi describes the entire process as "nerve-wracking."

"It's very hard. You don't know what is going to happen. You don't know when they are coming," he says. 

"It can be very hard waiting for answers, but when you hear the news, you jump for joy!"

Palani says of his first days in Canada, "I was so happy. I came to a beautiful place - a better place."

Palani now lives in his own apartment, "somewhere close to schools, shops, and busses," says Rahimi.

"It can be hard when you come to Canada," he says as it can be very isolating now knowing the language or having your own vehicle.

"As a Kurdish people we really want to thank the Mennonite community," says Rahimi.

Rahimi advises any other family in a similar situation that this process, "It's very hard.

"If people want to sponsor their family members, you have to work hard - really, really hard. You have to be really real with yourself and you have to be honest. You have to work very, very hard to support your family"

Palani says the most wonderful thing about being here: "For so long, I have not seen my family, my daughter, and now I see my kids and grandkids. I am so happy to be here."