Prince George Citizen – April 23, 2010

A paperwork hiccup has delayed the reunion of a Prince George man with his family.

Mamadou Tounkara had hoped to see his wife and three children this Friday in the culmination of a more than decade long struggle to bring them to Canada. Documentation in his native Guinea which he fled in 1997 after being tortured and jailed for five years was secured and a community fundraising effort raised $12,000 for four plane tickets.

Unfortunately, problems with visas aborted the family’s departure from Guinea on Wednesday. The new arrival date is May 7.

“This is Murphy’s Law, if something was going to go wrong, it most certainly will,” said Dick Harris, MP for Cariboo-Prince George, whose office has been spearheading the Tounkara reunion via his executive assistant Jeanne Clough. “This is just a slight interruption of the travel arrangements; the family is still coming to Canada.”

Clough said the negotiations to clear the Tounkara family to travel even involved the French ambassador, but to no avail. Alternate arrangements have fixed the problem, she said.

Unfortunately, the cost of the tickets has gone up $2,000. Clough said she hopes the community outpouring of support will continue and help cover it.