Opposition Protests: Ahmad and Justin Trudeau

opposition protests: Their journey had begun five years earlier, when Ahmad and his wife attempted to flee Syria, in the run-up to the civil war, according to CTV. On their way to the Damascus airport, the couple was stopped at a checkpoint, where Ahmad, who had participated in opposition protests, was beaten by Syrian officials and forced to pay a five-hundred-dollar bribe in exchange for his and his family's release. I want to go to the Canadian border, he told the driver. They were able to live as temporary residents in Abu Dhabi until the U.A.E. government unexpectedly expelled the family, in December, 2015. Two days after landing at J.F.K. airport, Ahmad got a call from a Syrian friend in Canada, who told him that the new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was welcoming Syrians. Ahmad, who asked to be identified only by his middle name, knew that his life would be at risk if the family returned to Syria; instead, they flew to New York on U.S. tourist visas. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.