An Iranian woman who spent 11 months in international limbo trying to get to Canada with her two children collapsed Thursday before a throng of supporters and reporters awaiting her arrival at the Vancouver airport.

Surrounded by her supporters and a brother she hadn't seen in 14 years, a tearful Zahra Kamalfar, her 18-year-old daughter Anna and 10-year-old son Davood expressed their gratitude to Ottawa for allowing them to enter Canada as government-sponsored immigrants.

Zahra Kamalfar of Iran fainted shortly after talking to reporters at Vancouver's airport.
(CBC)

"I don't know to thank the Canadian government for helping me," Kamalfar told reporters as she and her family wept and embraced each other.

Kamalfar and her two children had lived in Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport since last spring, and spent the past three months applying for asylum in Canada.

"Now I feel freedom," her daughter said. "I can again [see] a sky, moon, a sun, and I can take again oxygen."

The family's long-delayed journey to Vancouver suffered another bizarre obstacle as Kamalfar was detained by the RCMP, the result, her supporters said, of a language issue. 

The crowd of anxious supporters from Vancouver's Iranian community were told police believed she was using the airplane's washroom to smoke, but no charges would be laid. Their anxiety turned to joy as the family members made their way through security.

Shortly after her brief statement, Kamalfar fainted and fell into her friends' arms amid the glare of photographers and television cameras. Her supporters gave her water and fanned her with homemade welcome signs as she was on the terminal floor for several minutes before being helped to her feet and escorted to an awaiting taxi.

"On the airplane she didn't eat anything," her daughter said.

Looking forward to Canadian life

Earlier Wednesday, Kamalfar's lawyer, Negar Azmudeh, said her client and her two children were looking forward to their new life in "compassionate" Canada.

"The initial plan is just to settle down and look into her options," Azmudeh said. "She has two bright young children who would like to continue with their studies."

Azmudeh said the family was amazed by the outpouring of affection and compassion after their story became public.

"At this point, she's most grateful to the Canadian people and Canadian authorities. She's looking forward to being in such a compassionate society," she said.

Used false documents

Kamalfar fled Iran while on a two-day pass from jail, where she was serving time for attending a 2004 political rally, her lawyer said. Using false documents, she was to travel to Canada through Russia and Germany.

"They were intercepted by the German authorities in Frankfurt and sent back to Russia," the lawyer said.

While in Russia, Azmudeh said, her clients were interviewed by the United Nations refugee agency, but their claim was rejected because of a miscommunication with a Farsi interpreter.

The family spent several months under house arrest in a Moscow hotel until Russian authorities relocated them to the airport last May or June, Azmudeh said.

Kamalfar and her children had no access to showers, slept on the floor and depended on airport staff for food, Azmudeh said.

"I don't think the words have been invented yet to describe the ordeal," she said.