An LGBTQ-phobic Canadian family's attempt to flee the "woke" culture of Canada by moving to Russia on a tourist visa has ended in teeth gnashing and bureaucratic limbo, as reported by Marcie Jones in Wonkette. Arend and Anneesa Feenstra, along with eight of their children, "saw pride flags on the streets of Saskatchewan and decided it was a sign from God that an apocalyptic purge against straight, white, meat-eating Christians was at hand," writes Jones. They sold their farm and relocated to the Christo-capitalist utopia of Nizhny Novgorod, "expecting Russia to roll out the krasnoya carpet and offer up citizenship and property for them to buy."
However, as Jones details, the Feenstras' Russian adventure quickly turned sourer than a crock of rancid kapusta. After "nine glorious weeks of waiting in lines to fill out forms and get blood and urine tests, getting their assets frozen and sleeping 10 people to a one-bedroom apartment with two sick kids and a broken sink," the family discovered they cannot obtain residency without passing a Russian language test. With their visas expiring, the Feenstras must now leave Russia for at least three months before trying again.
But, problems. Flying 10 people out will cost about $10,000, and while they told the Russians they'd bought a return ticket, it's unclear if they actually did, or to where. They sold their farm and have nowhere in Canada to return to, and now they've got no idea where they'll go next. They miss their farm, where they tapped the maple trees for syrup and made goat cheese and kombucha.
Just three weeks ago, in a video entitled "Squash the Western Media with the Truth!!" Arend responded to reports that things hadn't been going great.
"It's Western propaganda, designed to keep your eyes off the ball. Your mainstream medias do their thing… Lots of lies. We are perfectly happy here, we are not planning on leaving here, we're not stuck here, we're not hostages here, we're not under some kind of threat.
Jones notes the irony of the situation, as the Feenstras "traded the freedoms and benefits of life in Canada for the harsh realities of an authoritarian regime." She quotes Arend's previous statement that "Here's a family who came here, moved here, did it successfully," contrasting it with their current predicament. The Feenstras' story, Jones says, is, "serves as a cautionary tale for anyone tempted to flee the perceived excesses of Western culture for the supposed paradise of Russia."
