On Nov. 23, we brought you the story of a terminally-ill Houston teenager desperate to see her parents. Qirat Chappra, an 18-year-old who has spent most of her life at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, hadn’t seen them in 13 years.
Idrees and Naila Chappra are Pakistani and their visa applications to the U.S. had continually been denied by immigration officials. After cutting through a lot of red tape and a petition on the White House website, the family was reunited on Nov. 28. But as Syeda Hasan from Here & Now contributor Houston Public Media reports, the meeting, just days before Qirat’s death, was bittersweet.
Reporter
- Syeda Hasan, reporter at Houston Pubilc Media. She tweets @SyedaHasan887.
Host
- Eric Westervelt, correspondent for NPR and guest host for Here & Now. He tweets @Ericnpr.
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