🍉 VanGran4Pal Community Newsletter
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**Neighbours and Friends, **
It was so lovely to meet some of you at our Free Coffee Free Palestine social and we are so grateful for you showing up. We look forward to staying connected! If you couldn’t make it, there are plenty of opportunities to connect coming up - just scroll down to check out upcoming events and we hope to see you there.
The atrocities continuing in Gaza are so reprehensible, it can feel physically repulsive to see the abhorrent complicity of political leaders in the face of this. We were heartened to read that a coalition of countries are taking concrete steps to pursue accountability for Israel, but we’re 21 months past October 7th and have often felt powerless whilst witnessing the worst war crimes anyone could imagine. We are committed to the fight for Palestine, to stay connected as a community and do all that we can to resist our own government’s complicity.
This week we really want to highlight the injustice of IRCC, and the Palestinian Canadian family reunification sit-ins and petitions that are circulating. Please check action updates and community spotlight below and make your voice heard on these important actions.
Action Updates
Demand reunification for Palestinian Canadian families
From @gazancanadians (click here for the ‘what are our demands’ post):
🌊 Gaza Solidarity Sit-In — What Every Canadian Needs to Know 🌊
We are a united group of Gazan families — Palestinian Canadians who came to this country seeking safety and a future. When the genocide in Gaza began, and our families were being slaughtered, we asked:
Would Canada protect us the same way it protected Ukrainian Canadians?
We lobbied. We met with Minister Mark Miller. We got a promise — the Gaza Special Immigration Measures Program. But it was a scam.
⚠️ “Not a single person has been evacuated.” — CJPME
⚠️ “Bureaucratic roadblocks make it inaccessible.” — Amnesty
More than 7,500 families applied.
None were saved.
Canada has done nothing.
So we are rising. Not out of rage. But out of survival.
If you are able, please join one of the weekly Wednesday sit-ins outside of Vancouver’s IRCC office on Hornby street or come by to find out more and show your support. Please also click here to petition your MP to reunite Palestinian Canadian families now!
Upcoming Events
Tatreez for Palestine | Sat July 19
📅 Saturday July 19, 2025
📍 Location: Van Art Gallery
4:30pm
Tatreez for Palestine is back this Saturday July 19th! Join us after the rally at the Art Gallery and get a motif stitched on your clothing in exchange for a donation to vetted fundraisers in Gaza 🇵🇸
We will be offering tatreez on t-shirts, kufiyas or light fabrics on the spot and will quote you timing for heavier or larger items. We will also be accepting custom commissions.
DM @hiyadania if you have any questions or to discuss heavier items/commission pieces. Also, please reach out if you can cross-stitch and want to get involved.
See you Saturday!
Rise for Gaza | Sat July 19
📅 Sunday, July 19 at 1 pm
📍 Location: Van Art Gallery
This Saturday, July 19th, We Rise for Gaza. As Gaza endures bombing, displacement and forced starvation, none of us have any excuse to not be in the street. We come together again to raise our voices, to demand action and justice for Palestine.
** Bake Sale & Raffle | July 19**
📆 Saturday, July 19
⏰ 12 - 4 pm
📍 Tahanan Studio, 310 East 5th
**free entry, cash preferred **
From @tahananstudio: Join us at the BAD BAKE SALE (& raffle!) fundraiser for a good time and great causes! 🍪🍉🇵🇭🎉
We’ll have boxes and cups, but will super love if you bring a container (and travel mug) if you want to load up!
We’re splitting all $$ between aid to P /\ | e s t i n e and our neighbours at @tahananstudio, who have been doing so much to host community after tragedy at @LapuLapuDay. LeLe & co have been true blue water melon friends, and we want to support them!
Last time at Baking A Difference, $5200 was raised (thank you!!) and funds were donated to @aneraorg, as they were still able to bring supplies. We will have to look at who can (closer to the date), and are considering them or other groups, including @gazasoupkitchen or @unrwa.
We are so grateful for all of our generous bakers, volunteers, and raffle donors (incredible lineup of stacked prizes from local businesses and friends!). Looking forward to seeing YOU! Please tell your friends, on (and off!!) I G, bring a crew, let’s party! 🎊🦄
Thank you everyone for encouraging my badly drawn @sharpie cat art (/bear in a tattooed lucky cat suit this time) & pop music bc chef life x r e a c h b o o s t s x culture 🇵🇭🔑☀️ 🍉🇮🇪🍀🇨🇳🐻🐈⬛🍩♥️
Infinite gratitude to @chardspice / @smallseedbakes for co-organizing, and @lelechan + family at @tahananstudio for hosting us, and always stepping up for the people. 💝
Symbols of Palestine | July 2-31
📅 July 2 – 31, 2025
🕘 Monday to Friday | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 312 Main Street, Vancouver
🎟️ Free Admission
From @vancouverarabevents:“Symbols of Palestine” is a powerful visual exhibition that reclaims and celebrates Palestinian identity through bold illustration and storytelling. Featuring a series of symbolic artworks paired with reflective texts, the exhibit brings to life histories of resistance, displacement, and resilience. Each piece serves as a window into the collective memory and enduring spirit of a people whose narrative has too often been silenced.
Step into this thought-provoking, educational journey—and bear witness to the symbols that continue to define and defend a culture under threat.
Unity Picnic for Palestine | July 27
📆 Date: Sunday, July 27th
Location: Creekside Park
⏰ Time: 1:00 PM–5:00 PM
From our friends at @parentsforpalestineyvr: Join us for an afternoon of family-friendly fun while we fundraise!
Activities include bake sale + tatreez circle + collective banner painting + youth bracelet making + bike decoration + facepainting + family tent
This is a free community event. Bring cash if possible to participate in the bake sale and tatreez circle! Proceeds go to support local BDS initiatives and funds to the National Zakat Foundation.
Community Spotlight
Help Mohammed and Hala Reunite Their Family
Mohammed and Hala are new parents in Canada, raising their baby in isolation while their loved ones remain stranded abroad and in crisis. Despite following every rule and seeking help at every turn, their urgent family reunification applications are stalled by red tape and delays. Mohammed’s father and brother are trapped in Jordan—his father gravely ill and without access to care. The rest of their family is trapped in Gaza.
Canada’s humanitarian commitments are clear: families should not be separated, especially in times of crisis. Yet, procedural delays and inflexible policies are putting lives at risk and leaving new parents without the support they desperately need.
Why Your Voice Matters:
Urgent medical cases are being overlooked due to bureaucratic delays.
Families in conflict zones face impossible barriers to meeting Canada’s requirements.
New parents like Mohammed and Hala are left to raise children alone, without family or community support.
Take Action Now:
Send this letter to your Member of Parliament and urge them to:
Prioritize urgent medical cases and remove unnecessary procedural barriers.
Advocate for flexible, compassionate policies for families in crisis.
Publicly support reforms to Canada’s family reunification and Gaza TRV programs.
Every letter makes a difference. Help bring families together and ensure Canada lives up to its humanitarian values. Send this letter to your Member of Parliament, Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree, and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab.
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With gratitude and in solidarity,
Your Neighbours
Van Gran 4 Palestine
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