Oumou, who was to be removed from Canada in July had fallen through the cracks of the Canadian refugee system. Her account of why she fled her native Guinea was consistent with human rights reports about the treatment of women in that West African nation. Oumou’s mother passed away when Oumou was in her teens. Her step mother removed Oumou from school, treated her as a domestic servant and herself inflicted FGM on her. This horrific practice is imposed on 96% to 99% of girls and young women in Guinea, according to Unicef.

Deeply scarred by this trauma, Oumou is extremely shy and tends to freeze up when she is the object of any attention, becoming unable to answer the simplest questions. The Immigration and Refugee Board member who ruled on Oumou’s refugee claim found that her account was not coherent, although an examination of the decision shows that she said nothing to contradict the essential facts of her story of abuse.

As there is no right of appeal on the merits of refugee cases (see Call To Action, below), and free legal aid is almost non-existent for refused refugees, Oumou gradually worked her way through the system. By the fall of 2006, she seemed to have exhausted all recourses and had nothing to expect but removal from Canada and the impossible choice concerning her daughter.

At that point, her social worker referred her to us. The Committee to Aid Refugees along with the Montreal City Mission’s Just Solutions Clinic, put together a new application for permanent residence on Humanitarian and Compassionate (H & C) grounds. The evidence of harm to Fanta was so compelling that Amnesty International and the International Bureau of Children’s Rights threw their support behind the application. However, Citizenship and Immigration Canada refused to look at the new application stating that it had to "wait its turn in line" – more than a year. In other words, it would only be studied after Oumou was removed from Canada!

CAR and the MCM then turned to Heather Macdonald, the Refugee and Migration Program Coordinator for the UCC, to intervene directly with the Minister of Immigration, Diane Finley to request that Oumou’s case be properly examined before any potential removal. When even that request went unanswered for weeks, CAR and the MCM decided to appeal to the public, with a press conference held at St. James United on June 5^th.  Something finally registered with the Minister. Within hours of the press conference, Oumou was invited in to Immigration Canada to discuss her application. She received a positive reply three days later!

The Spring 2007 CAR Bulletin was devoted to

Bill C-280, the private member’s bill to force the Canadian government to implement the Refugee Appeal Division. Bill C-280 has now been passed by Parliament and is before the Senate! If you would like to help with the final push to have this bill become law, and would be willing to contact the Senator who represents you (or any other you might happen to know!) please visit the following link at the website of the Canadian Council for Refugees for more information: www.ccrweb.ca/eng/campaigns/RADaction.htm