In the first, Canada granted asylum to Brandon Huntley on the basis that black criminals are targeting white South Africans with impunity because of the state’s inability, or unwillingness, to protect them. Huntley first came to Canada on a six-month work permit in 2004 to work as a carnival attendant. He returned home to South Africa and came back to work in Canada in 2005 for a year and stayed illegally for an additional year until he made a refugee claim in April 2008.
Via ImmigrationProf Blog:
The consensus, quite rightly, is that Huntley, an unemployed irrigation system salesman, might have taken Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board for a ride, in the process embarrassing South Africa in the eyes of the world — and possibly even undermining the position of genuine refugees everywhere.
Black and white citizens joined in the chorus of protests against the decision, pointing out that crime affects all of us. South African officials have also taken up the matter with their Canadian counterparts, suggesting the board should, at the very least, have sought our government’s opinion before ruling.
The Canadian government has now applied for leave to appeal the board’s ruling in the federal court. Should the court overturn the ruling, Huntley, who is still a South African citizen, faces the prospect of being deported. Click here for the rest of the piece.
The second is the case of a lesbian who deserted the U.S. army argued before the Federal Court in Ottawa that she should be allowed to remain in Canada as a refugee. CBC News reports:
Pte. Bethany Smith, also known as Skyler James, is seeking a judicial review of a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board to reject a refugee claim. Smith said she feared for her life due to the treatment she received in the army as a result of her sexual orientation.
"I had to endure not only verbal and physical harassment, but death threats and harassment letters on my door every day," Smith told reporters Tuesday outside the court. Following the hearing, she said she was staying positive and hoping for the best.
Smith, who now lives in Ottawa, said she was treated as "less than human" by other soldiers at the base in Fort Campbell, Ky., after they saw her holding hands with another woman at a local mall and found out she was a lesbian. One soldier who worked with her on the base's fleet of vehicles would pick her up, shake her and throw her to the ground on a daily basis, she told CBC News.
Fearing for her life, she asked her first sergeant for a discharge, which is usually granted automatically to soldiers who admit to homosexuality.
"He told me straight up, 'We'll figure out the paperwork when we get back from deployment," she recalled. At the time, Smith was scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan.
Her lawyer, Jamie Liew, suggested the military went against its own policies because it needed more soldiers for its overseas deployments.
After being denied a discharge, Smith, who was 19 years old at the time, drove to the border at Cornwall, Ont., with another soldier. The War Resister Support Campaign, a group that has helped other U.S. deserters, helped her settle in Ottawa.
If Smith returns to the U.S., Liew believes that in addition to threats to her life, Smith would face military charges of desertion, absence without leave and indecency.
If the Federal Court rules in Smith's favour, she will be able to make her case again before a different IRB member, said Liew. She said the previous refugee board decision erred by not dealing with whether Smith would be persecuted if she returns to the U.S.
1 comment:
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