TORONTO: A young
Saudi woman who caused a sensation by defying her family and seeking asylum
abroad was welcomed with open arms in Toronto yesterday at the end of an
exhausting international odyssey. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland greeted
Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun, 18, after she landed in Toronto, wearing a blue ball
cap and a gray hoodie emblazoned in red with the word "CANADA".
Smiling broadly, she posed for photographers with Freeland at her side, but
made no statement. "She had a pretty long journey and is exhausted and
prefers not to take questions for the moment," Freeland said.

Qunun captured
the world's attention with a trail of Twitter posts that ignited a #SaveRahaf
movement as she fled what she said was an abusive family in ultraconservative
Saudi Arabia. Thai authorities backed down on an attempt to deport her after
she arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Kuwait a week ago, turning her over to
the UN's refugee agency instead. Then on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
made the surprise announcement that Canada would take her in.

The move is sure
to further strain Canada's relations with the kingdom. That relationship went
sideways last August over Ottawa's rights criticism of Saudi Arabia, prompting
Riyadh to expel the Canadian ambassador and sever all trade and investment ties
in protest. Canada also sparked fury in Riyadh by demanding the "immediate
release" of jailed rights campaigners, including Samar Badawi, the sister
of jailed blogger Raif Badawi, whose family lives in Quebec.

Qunun's attempt
to flee Saudi Arabia was embraced by rights groups as a beacon of defiance
against repression. "Ms Al-Qunun's plight has captured the world's
attention over the past few days, providing a glimpse into the precarious
situation of millions of refugees worldwide," said Filippo Grandi, the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "Refugee protection today is often
under threat and cannot always be assured, but in this instance international
refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed."

Raif Badawi's
wife Ensaf Haidar also praised Canada, calling Freeland on Twitter "the
real hero" behind efforts to prevent Qunun's repatriation to Saudi Arabia.
Qunun alleged that she was abused by her family - who deny the allegations -
and rights groups also said she had renounced Islam, risking prosecution in
Saudi Arabia. Qunun first said she was aiming for Australia, where officials
had suggested they would give serious consideration to her claim for asylum,
which was endorsed as legitimate by the UNHCR on Wednesday.

But late Friday
Thailand's immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn said a smiling and
cheerful Rahaf was bound for Toronto and had left on a flight after 11pm (1600
GMT). "She chose Canada ... (and) Canada said it will accept her,"
Surachate told reporters at Bangkok's main airport. "She is safe now and
has good physical and mental health. She is happy." Qunun left from the
same airport where her quest for asylum began in a swift-moving process that
defied most norms.

On Friday
afternoon Qunun posted a cryptic tweet on her profile saying, "I have some
good news and some bad news." Her account was deactivated shortly
afterward in response to death threats she had faced, her friends said. But she
was back online later in the day, tweeting: "I would like to thank you
people for supporting me and saving my life. Truly I have never dreamed of this
love and support."

Qunun's skillful
use of Twitter saw her amass tens of thousands of followers within a week,
highlighting her plight at a time when Saudi Arabia's human rights record is
under heavy scrutiny following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last
year. Her deployment of social media allowed her to avoid the fate of countless
other refugees who are quietly sent back home or left to languish in Bangkok
detention centers. She refused to see her father, who traveled to Thailand and
expressed opposition to her resettlement. Surachate said her father and brother
were due to return home on a flight in the early hours of yesterday.

Although Qunun's
asylum case moved quickly, the final maneuvers that led to her flight to Canada
remain largely a mystery. Surachate had told reporters earlier Friday that
"two or three" countries were ready to offer her asylum. The
Southeast Asian country is not a signatory to a convention on refugees, and
asylum seekers must be referred to a third country. - AFP