Justice: Refugees

STORY

refugee photoRose came to Canada from Egypt with 3 children and 1 grandchild on the coldest winter evening of December, 2006.  She had spent 5 years in Egypt caring for her family after fleeing from persecution in her homeland of Sudan.  She longed for the safety, opportunities and freedom that she thought Canada could offer her.

For Rose,  everything in Canada was new...her surroundings, the people who connected to her, and the church where people wanted to embrace her, but had little understanding of African culture.  The congregation was excited to bring household items, but they did not want to stay and visit.  To Rose, relationships did not seem paramount in this new culture.

With her very limited English, Rose found it very difficult to figure out phone accessibility, the school systems and also the paper work for health care and social assistance.  How could she access the food she was familiar with?  The distances everywhere were great and so how could she maneuver through a bus system?  She wanted to work.  How could she find a job when there seemed to be few possibilities?  She had so many questions.
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Who is a Refugee? | Do Justice | Through Ministry | Through Advocacy |
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WHO IS A REFUGEE?

Like Rose, refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of widespread persecution, and who are unable to return home. Many refugees come from war-torn countries, and they and their children have seen unthinkable horrors.

A refugee is different from an immigrant: an immigrant is a person who chooses to settle permanently in another country; refugees are forced to flee.

Refugees and Canada

In terms of numbers, Canada’s response is minute compared to refugee-hosting countries.  Canada’s annual acceptance rate for refugees measures a mere one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of its total population.  Because Canada has a vast land mass, low birth rate, and shrinking labour pool, it would seem to make sense to welcome more refugees.  However, it is not that simple.  Currently it takes three to five years before a privately-sponsored refugee actually arrives in Canada; this long wait makes it difficult for sponsoring groups to stay focused.  Those who come to Canada to seek asylum may wait for permanent resident status for 3-4 years.  Since September 11, 2001, the responsibility of refugees to prove that they are neither terrorists nor criminals has increased significantly.

Canadian Refugee Protection Program

The Canadian refugee system has two main parts:

1.  Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program:  This program is for people seeking protection from outside of Canada.

Canada operates a global resettlement program which, in 2007 alone, resettled refugees of about 70 different nationalities.

There are about 16 million refugees in the world today. Every year, 19 countries resettle about 100,000 refugees. From that number, Canada annually resettles 10,000 to 12,000, or 1 out of every 10 refugees resettled globally.

As a member of the international community, Canada helps to find solutions to both prolonged and emerging refugee situations and also helps emerging democracies try to solve many of the problems that create refugee populations. To do this, Canada works closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In 2006, for example, Canada began resettling Karen refugees and will end up welcoming more than 3,900 Karen refugees from some of the most remote camps in Thailand.

Various Groups across Canada have also become important partners in the resettlement of refugees.  They offer additional sponsorships above the government numbers.  These sponsorships do not rely on public resources, but rather tap the energy and funds of ethnic groups, families, faith communities, and other benevolent associations.  Through these partners, refugees are offered personalized, local support that the government is not able to provide.

Christian Reformed congregations may sponsor refugees through the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), which is the Sponsorship Agreement Holder with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.  Churches interested in sponsoring a refugee may approach the CRWRC office for a refugee profile or with a sponsorship request by a family member or friend of a refugee.

2.  In-Canada Asylum Program: This is for people making refugee protection claims from within Canada.

Refugees come from around the world and many make their claims in Canada. The number of people arriving varies from year to year. In 2007, 28,000 people came to Canada seeking asylum.

The asylum program works to provide refugee protection to people in Canada who are at risk of torture, or cruel or unusual punishment in their home countries.

Not everyone is eligible to receive asylum. For example, people convicted of serious criminal offences and people who have had previous refugee claims denied by Canada are not accepted.  There are also other restrictions on asylum seekers.  For example, if they have traveled through the United States, most must seek asylum there rather than in Canada.

Refugees and the church

According to the United Nations, there are currently over 16 million refugees and 26 million internally displaced persons worldwide and not enough sponsors to help.  In 2000, over 1 million refugees were identified as having no hope for an open door to another country.

DO JUSTICE...

Diaconal Ministries Canada invites the church to consider its responsibility, to consider Christ’s call in regards to the “stranger and displaced.”  Our refugee protection programs have helped refugees bring their experiences, skills, hopes and dreams to Canada, which, in turn, have contributed to an enriched country for us all.  As the church of Jesus Christ, we are called to “do justice.”  How does that look in the face of statistics that are difficult to imagine in terms of real lives?

...THROUGH MINISTRY

  • Inform your congregations about the plight of our neighbors/refugees overseas  and Canada’s response among refugee-hosting countries.
  • Review resources (financial and human), interests, availability and commitment within the church regarding refugees.
  • Become informed about how a church might partner with another local area church in a sponsorship
  • Begin the application process for a refugee.
  • Choose to become aware of refugees seeking asylum in your community and the possibilities for advocacy, for becoming a “host” and for getting involved.  
  • Partner with other non-profit groups to provide affordable housing options in the community.
  • With other interest groups, develop ways to approach and handle money matters in a culturally-sensitive way.
  • Develop volunteer and learning opportunities for refugees to acquire the necessary skills for the available jobs in a community.
  • Improve child care options that accompany English language instruction for adults.

 

...THROUGH ADVOCACY

  • Assist newcomers to the community in finding out what economical shopping venues are available including bulk food and discount stores and second-hand shops
  • Research available ESL and language training courses in the community.
  • Find available interpreters for newcomers (settlement agency or multicultural council may be able to make a recommendation).
  • Keeping in mind the limited resources of newcomers, assist them in finding the most economical transportation options.
  • Advocate in your community for the presence of programs funded by Citizenship and Immigration of Canada. (CIC funds programs that help newcomers settle, adapt, and integrate into Canadian society. These programs are delivered in partnership with the provinces, territories, and service-providing organizations.)
  • Advocate for available learning support for each newcomer in the local school system when English is not the first language for the child.
  • Advocate for government to address the inadequacies of the current social assistance that undermine asylum seekers’ ability to live with dignity and access healthy food for their families.
  • Advocate so that Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) becomes available for every asylum seeker.
  • Advocate for improvements to the private sponsorship program to help speed up the process.

 

MORE LINKS AND RESOURCES

          

Develop your Compassion for Refugees with the following books:

  • "They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky"  by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajax.* Between 1987 and 1989, thousands of Sudanese boys traveled nearly 1,000 miles to escape the carnage of Sudan’s civil war.  Three of these boys tell of their flight to Ethiopia, then back to Sudan, and later to Kenya.  They survived phenomenal challenges.
  • "At the Border Called Hope"  by Mary Jo Leddy.* Mary Jo tells the stories of courageous men, women, and children who fled great dangers to come to Canada, and spells out the trials that they continued to face once they arrived.  Leddy’s faith and convictions have inspired and motivated many to continue the work of refugee sponsorship.
  • "Refugee Sandwich"  by Peter Showler.* Although more than thirty thousand refugee claims are decided in Canada every year, the personal stories behind them are never heard by the Canadian public. Peter Showler exposes the dilemmas and choices faced by participants in the refugee determination process in this collection of thirteen vignettes that focus on the roles played by the participants - legal counsel, federal court judges, interpreters, hearing officers, and, of course, claimants and board members.
  • "The Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.* In this suspenseful account of her life and her internal struggle with her Muslim faith, Ali discusses how these views were shaped by experiences amidst the political chaos of Somalia and other African nations.  She delivers a powerful feminist critique of Islam informed by a genuine understanding of the religion.
  • "Monzi and Mama's Stories" by Sonya Vanderveen Feddema. A story for children that follows the very difficult journey of a child forever changed by the ravages and loss of war, from their village to a refugee camp and a new life reality.  It is told with stirring clarity and hope.

* Available from Chapters/Indigo at www.chapters.ca

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Footnote:

All the statistics in the document has been attained from the following:

www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/canada.asp and  www.cpj.ca