Film follows Syrian doctor's journey to reunite her family torn apart by war

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When Rana Agha left her children, 9 and 15, to go to Denmark, she thought she'd be separated from them for half a year. But the Syrian woman wouldn't get the chance to hug her sons again for more than two years.     

The family's journey is the focus of the documentary Reunited, directed by Mira Jargil. It's part of the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto.

Reunited tells the story of the family's separation across three countries, and the bureaucracy and heartache that Agha had to deal with before she was able to be reunited with her sons.

In the film Agha is in Denmark, her two sons are in Turkey, and her husband is in Ottawa trying to get permanent residency — so maybe the family can reunite there.  

Agha said she had no idea that after leaving for Europe on a small inflatable boat bound for the shores of Greece that it would take such a long time for her to see her children again. 

"When I sat with my two kids [in Turkey] discussing this issue, we supposed that in six months we'll be together again. This is what I promised my children. All the people here in Denmark told me that it would take no longer than six months. But unfortunately, everything is upside down and changed," she told As It Happens host Carol Off.

Her two boys didn't follow their mother because they were "so afraid" of the journey and it "sounded like mission impossible for them," she said.

"I decided to do it alone. I also couldn't imagine taking my children with me because I can handle being in the face of danger, but my children, [that] is somewhat difficult."

Agha and her husband both worked as doctors while living in Aleppo, Syria — which carries a significant risk.

"As a doctor, you have a responsibility to help all people. But in a war when you help someone ... there [are] other people who get angry. I cannot stop doing that," she said.    

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in January that nearly 700,000 people had left Syria since December, mostly women and children. Over 5.6 million people have fled the country since fighting began in 2011. 

'A really Kafkaesque system'

Jargil said she learned about the story through a friend who worked as a judge. He told her that Agha's application for family reunification in Denmark had been denied.

Jargil met Agha one year after she moved to Denmark, and started filming the documentary. It took more than a year after that, until her boys were allowed into the country.

"I was actually pretty shocked that this was the process and also about the bureaucracy that she met. It was a really Kafkaesque system and very difficult to understand, even for me who understands the language. It was pretty devastating to look at," said Jargil. 

Agha also said she was "shocked with this procedure," supposing upon arrival in the country that it would have been easier than it actually was.   

One instance of this bureaucracy shown in the film was when a woman with a police department hung up on Agha as she desperately tried to get information about her passport. 

"I must say, I really admire that she was able to be so patient. After this phone call, I was so full of anger, I called the woman who hung up on her and I yelled at her. But what she did, she just hung up again. 

"The way that Agha managed to handle the situation is much wiser. I think we can learn from her," Jargil said.

We tend to forget about the humans that are actually living [through this]."- Mira Jargil, Director of

Despite losing hope amid the maze of government protocol, Agha said she "continued to fight" because "the kids are so important to me."

"The hope is inside us all the time. If you are in these kinds of circumstances, I will tell you, you will see that you have great power inside. When I look [at] myself in the mirror, I keep telling myself: 'This is not you. This is another woman who has great power."

The face behind the numbers

Jargil said filming the documentary has opened her eyes to the ordeal refugees have to go through in order to find safety, adding that she "learned a lot" about the immigration process of her own country. 

"My ambition with this film was really to show the human face behind the journey because we read so much in the newspapers ... and it's all about how many we should let in and how many we should reject.

"In the end, it's all about numbers and then we tend to forget about the humans that are actually living [through this]."

Now reunited with her boys in Denmark, Agha says they are "fighting" to create a new life for themselves there.  

"We are learning the language and studying a lot of things. Trying to get a diploma to start working. We're doing a lot of things in order to be active people here. We are trying hard." 

Written by Adam Jacobson. Produced by Katie Geleff.