Sitting inside a
church, University of Regina students Victoria Ordu and Ihuoma Amadi start as a
prairie wind rattles the front door.
Ordu glances over,
eyes wary, before flicking toward the window at the back of the church she now
calls home.
Sunshine streams
through the glass, but that’s the only taste of the outside world the two girls
have been able to get since June 19, when they opted to seek sanctuary in the
church.
The fear of being
found by the Canada Border Services Agency and deported back home to Nigeria
hangs over their heads – all because they worked for two weeks at Walmart.
They have spent each
day hoping Canadian Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney –
the only one who can change their fate – will grant them pardon.
The daily stress of
it has, they say, been “hell.”
U of R President
Vianne Timmons has visited them at the church and the school has contacted the
federal government, throwing its support behind the students’ plea to stay in
Canada and complete their education.
Amadi and Ordu have
also written letters to Kenney, but no one has had a response.
And so, they wait.
“This is a small
mistake we made, and now everything is at risk,” Ordu says, clasping her
shaking hands in her lap.
“It doesn't make any
sense. They're looking for us like we've killed someone. We're just students at
university … but it’s like we're running away and living in fear every day.”
As part of their
visas, international students like Ordu – who is studying theatre arts – and
Amadi – international studies – are able to work on campus.
Both in Canada on
full scholarships paid for by their government, Ordu and Amadi went to Service
Canada and got their Social Insurance Numbers when they arrived in 2010, ending
up working at the university.
Last year, Amadi
found a parttime job at Walmart and Ordu at an agency that does demonstrations
at the store.
Both were under the
misapprehension their SINs allowed them to work outside U of R. Ordu quit after
two weeks, as soon as she found out that wasn't the case.
Amadi discovered her
mistake during her second week on the job – and was led away from her till in
handcuffs by two CBSA agents.
“They led me through
the store, in front of everyone, and all the customers were looking at me like
‘What have you done?’” she recalls, looking at the floor.
“I just felt so
embarrassed.”
Kay Adebogun is a
Regina immigration consultant who has taken on their case pro bono.
“Why go to that
level of force?” he says.
“Why parade her out
of there like she’s a criminal?”
Barb Pollock, U of R
spokeswoman, says while the school respects the fact laws have to be upheld, it
is trying to advocate for a reconsideration of the girls’ case.
“We think that the
penalty, perhaps, is a bit severe for the crime,” she says.
“Albeit that laws
have been contravened, in light of what they have done to contravene the law,
we would like them to have an opportunity to complete their education with us …
(and) we think it is a harsh penalty to be deported.”
Pollock says the
university has written to Kenney but is yet to receive an indication when it
might receive a decision from the minister.
Both students say
they admitted their mistake right away, but think the CBSA’s decision to deport
them – which went to an admissibility hearing – is an over-reaction.
“It’s a huge deal to
finish school, come back (to Nigeria) and help the country,” Amadi says.
“Now to think we
lose three years of our lives because of a small mistake? If there was a fine,
a warning, that would be more reasonable. I just wish they could look at this
from a human point of view.”
Pollock agrees the
case demonstrates how important it is for international students to understand
Canadian laws.
“We have to make
sure our students really understand what it means to come here and go to school
– what the opportunities are and, at the same time, what the limits are,” she
says.
“The fact something
may not have been clear, you can be assured we’re making that very clear with
our incoming students now.”
Adebogun would like
to see a reversal in the decision to deport Ordu and Amadi, but he also thinks
there are bigger issues at play with how the two were treated.
Of particular
concern, he says, is the fact both students were asked by CBSA workers for
names of other Nigerian students who were working and even if they knew anybody
in a gang.
“They agree they did
something wrong, but they should have a second chance,” Adebogun says.
CBSA could not
provide a comment on Tuesday but is expected to provide information on the case
today.
Source: The Regina
Leader Post
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