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HONG KONG — Vanessa Rodel was so afraid to believe the news, she asked her lawyer to repeat it, five times.

But each instance, the message she had longed to hear was exactly the same, and every bit as momentous. Rodel, a Filipino national, and her seven-year-old daughter Keana would finally be leaving Hong Kong for a new life thousands of kilometres away in Canada, ending a decade of suspended animation here that was punctuated by their unexpected role in one of the century’s biggest news stories.

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Photo by Maria de la Guardia photo

The pair stepped off a 15-hour flight to Toronto Monday, granted refugee status by Canada six tense years after they themselves provided refuge to American whistleblower Edward Snowden. The U.S. spy-agency contractor became the world’s most wanted man in 2013 after leaking details of various mass-surveillance programs.

Their acceptance marks the first breakthrough for a Canadian team trying to help the three asylum-seeking families who hid Snowden, and who believe they have been harassed and targeted for deportation as a result.