Hamilton doctor among thousands hoping to reunite with endangered families in Sudan

A Hamilton doctor is calling on the Canadian government to do more in assisting Sudanese refugees, after successfully saving his mother from the conflict in the country.

Dr. Abdelnasir Bashir is a Sudanese Canadian critical care doctor in Hamilton, and one of thousands of Canadians waiting to be reunited with their loved ones in Sudan.

Last year, Bashir was working to bring his elderly mother — also a Canadian — to safety.

She is now here, but his brother and his family remain in the war-torn nation.

Bashir says they are at risk of being targeted by the rebel militia known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“They specifically target Sudanese who have family members outside of Sudan, so they could kidnap them and ask for a ransom,” said Bashir.

“The Canadian people do not understand how bad this is. My family members — they could die. I have two nieces — they could be raped or sold for slavery.”

A report to the UN Human Rights Council found that the RSF committed crimes against humanity, including torture, enslavement and sexual violence.

WATCH MORE: Hamilton doctor calls on feds to do more for Sudan

In 2024 alone the United Nations documented over 4,000 civilian casualties, but says the real toll is likely to be significantly higher.

With the continued humanitarian crisis on the ground, Bashir is calling on the Canadian government to step up in its intervention.

“I really need the Canadian government to work with the U.S. and other governments to put a stop to this war,” said Bashir.

The Sudanese Canadian Community Association is also echoing the call.

Earlier this week a delegation from the group was in Ottawa meeting with members of parliament to bring awareness of the ongoing crisis.

“We saw a lot of commitment from MPs to work with us to understand more and to help us,” said Ranya Elfil with the Sudanese Canadian Community Association. “We consider this as a first step. There is definitely more to be done and that’s what we’re trying to focus on at this point. It breaks our heart really.”

The association has filed over 5,000 applications for its family reunification program since it began accepting them last February, and of the over 10,000 refugees it had hoped to assist by now, only 2,200 have landed in Canada.

“I know Canada can’t help everybody, but if we can get as many as possible, that would be a great thing for the government to do,” said Bashir.

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