Toronto woman walks 500 kilometres to Ottawa demanding asylum status extension for earthquake survivors

Sefika Ozlem Yaman Sahin walked 500 kilometres from Toronto to Ottawa over 28 days to demand the federal government extend temporary residency status for survivors of the devastating 2023 earthquake in Türkiye.

On February 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and powerful aftershocks killed more than 50,000 people and displaced millions across Türkiye and northern Syria. Canada granted temporary residency to about 6,000 people affected by the quake, offering temporary work permits set to expire in 2026.

"We made some peaceful protests in many cities across Canada and we sent many emails to the Canadian government but we couldn't get any response," Sahin said. "So I decided to walk from Toronto to Ottawa with my son to spread awareness."

The temporary permits allow holders to visit family, study, and work in Canada. But as expiry dates approach, many survivors who have built lives here face the prospect of returning to countries still rebuilding from the disaster.

At the ByWard Market in Ottawa, protesters gathered to share their concerns. One mother said she feared having to explain to her young son, who has lived his first years in Canada, that they must leave again.

"We are not asking for special treatment, it's a part of this nation to simply ask for a safe and stable future for our families," one participant said.

According to the United Nations, about 6.9 million people were internally displaced inside Syria before the earthquake, and more than 6.8 million Syrians have been forced to flee their country since 2011, including 3.6 million in Türkiye alone.

Sahin and the group are asking the government to grant extra time on their temporary status to "finish what we started." No government response to the walk or petition has been announced.