Refugee Claims

It is hard to turn people down. People who plead for the opportunities to start a new life. Because where they have come from they have been persecuted, their rights have been violated, they fear for their lives and those whom they love, and they have a wish to begin again, elsewhere, in a country that protects human rights. And which is well known for its generosity. Which would include its relaxed and compassionate social services.

In countries which neglect to protect, or even care about legally protecting their citizens' basic human rights, it is unlikely that a universal and easily-accessed hospitalization and medical system exists. It is also highly unlikely that there are well organized and taxpayer-funded social services available, from subsidized housing to paid dental care; an altogether enviable social welfare system to assist the unfortunate. Canada has these ingredients for decency because it is a socially advanced and wealthy country.

These benefits have wide appeal. And like all good things they are well known to exist, even among those outside the borders of the country. Who would dearly appreciate having the opportunity to take advantage of them. And so, Canada, a vast country with a relatively small indigenous population, made wealthy by its naturally-endowed riches becomes a target for immigrants eager to improve their aspirational opportunities, and refugees fleeing poverty.

A relatively new category of refugee claimants came into view in the past ten years or so. Women presenting with claims for refugee status on the basis that they have been sexually abused in their countries of origin and they are fleeing those violations of the human spirit. Many of these women come from the Caribbean. Where there is a cultural tradition of single mothers, of absent fathers, of physical abuse of women, and of wayward boys lacking discipline.

A handful of claims that were rejected by the Refugee Board or the officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada were brought on appeal before the Federal Court. Which court has now seen fit to overturn those decisions, ordering new hearings into the women's application for refugee status. Four of the women claim spousal abuse; one, a Guyanese woman fled her country after having been raped in the presence of her children during a home invasion.

One of the women was Brazilian the other Mexican, and two were from St.Vincent. These are culturally and traditionally male-dominated societies, but even in Canada where women's rights are protected by law and violations taken seriously, there are brutal incidents of wife beatings and spousal murders. And there are unfortunate incidents of home invasions, and more than sufficient-to-despair incidents of brutal rape.

Women attempting to escape as refugees collapsed and corrupt regimes like Republic of Congo where rape of girls and women is used as a weapon of war would constitute legitimate refugees with legitimate gender-abuse fears. Women and girls who lived in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan had legitimate fears because of institutionalized gender abuse. As one of the IRB officers noted, state protection was available in the countries these five women fled.

And of one it was commented upon that while awaiting deliberation on her refugee claim, she had failed to demonstrate steady employment or financial independence throughout the eight years she had already spent in Canada. Canada, it hardly needs repeating, has an expensive and extensive health-care system and network of social support systems. The economy is strained enough to ensure that everyone is adequately covered.

Although Canada was the first country in the world to enact formal guidelines for assessing refugee claims by women facing gender-based persecution, it does not follow that all such claims have merit, that the women claiming persecution are honest. It seems likely, however, that the end game is to ensconce themselves in a generous welfare community with no obligation on their part to find independent employment.