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OUR VIEW: Sick Surrey woman needs her family – now

As her condition worsens, Elsa Nega needs help taking care of her children, but getting here has proven needlessly difficult for her siblings

A sick woman’s family is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to allow her siblings into Canada as her condition deteriorates.

In June, the Now-Leader wrote about Surrey surgeon Ronald Lett’s plea for a bone marrow donor for his wife, Elsa Nega, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Such a donor is her only chance of survival, and none of the 29 million people in the international bone marrow registry are a match.

Meanwhile, as her condition worsens, Elsa needs her family’s help taking care of her two children, but getting here has proven difficult for her siblings.

The family has launched a petition urging Trudeau to allow her brother and sister, who are in Ethiopia, to visit and help Elsa in her time of need.

“(Siblings) Gelilia and Mikayas have applied for student visas, have been accepted by Langara College, paid their fees and have the means to live here during their visit,” according to the petition.

“Their visas have been denied, even after judicial review.”

The family is asking Canada to grant the visas on humanitarian grounds “before it is too late.”

The change.org petition has garnered more than 3,900 signatures so far. (Sign it by clicking here).

It seems silly that such a request would have to elicit a petition.

For Trudeau, this seems like a no-brainer. He should do the right thing and allow this family to be together in such a trying time. Wouldn’t you demand the same?

The Now-Leader