Two sisters who were stranded in Hong Kong for months after fleeing abuse back home in Saudi Arabia have been officially granted asylum in a third country.
According to a statement from their lawyer last night, the sisters — who have been going by the aliases Reem and Rawan — left the SAR late last week for the third country, which their attorney declined to name for their protection.
“After six months of hiding in Hong Kong from Saudi authorities and their family, these strong, brave and determined young women have finally been able to secure humanitarian visas to a third country place of safety,” their lawyer, Michael Vidler, said in the statement. “They are now in that third country, beginning their lives as free young women, looking forward to assimilating into the local culture, contributing to their new home country and leading lives as equal human beings.”
The two sisters, meanwhile, were quoted in the statement as saying: “We are thrilled that our story has a happy ending and that we have found our way to safety to re-start our lives free of violence and oppression.”
“We wish for our story to offer hope to others who face similar situations. We want to say loud and clear to the Saudi authorities and other regimes which treat women unequally: never underestimate the strength of brave women.”
The statement was accompanied by a short video of the sisters cheering as they board their plane. A man can be heard in the background saying “bon voyage.”
The sisters’ long ordeal began in September when they fled a family holiday in Sri Lanka and boarded a flight to Melbourne, Australia by way of Hong Kong.
What was meant to be a two hour stopover turned into six months in limbo. Upon disembarking at Hong Kong International Airport, the sisters were informed by airport employees that their connecting flight had been canceled at the “explicit request” of the Saudi consulate.
Saudi consular officials arrived, taking their passports, and tried to coerce them into returning to Saudi Arabia, even calling Australian immigration officials to have their visas canceled.
According to CNN, the outlet that first broke the story and who accompanied the sisters to the airport, the women spent the last six months moving between hotels, hostels, and private homes with the help of activists and support groups in an effort to evade detection by Saudi officials.
Earlier this month, it was feared that Reem and Rawan could be deported after a deadline for them to leave Hong Kong came and went. After days of uncertainty, however, the sisters ultimately had their stay extended by the Immigration Department until April 8, but were warned they were liable to prosecution.
