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An immigrant mother who has been separated from her four-year-old son for three years may have just received the miracle she’s been hoping for.
Bhavna Bajaj managed to have an impromptu meeting Tuesday with Canada’s Immigration Minister John McCallum and hand-deliver a petition with more than 12,000 signatures supporting her cause. McCallum promised to look into the case.
Wiping back tears later, Bajaj called the chance meeting a “miracle” and said it has renewed her hopes that her child will soon join her in Canada.
“Now he knows my story,” said Bajaj. “I hope he comes to some decision soon.”
Bajaj and her husband, Aman Sood, have been separated since 2013 from their son, Daksh, who lives with his paternal grandparents in India. The couple’s troubles with Immigration, first reported by the Citizen a year ago, stem from failing to disclose their plans to sponsor the boy and bring him over once they had established their lives in Canada.
After the couple landed in Montreal on Jan. 28, 2013, Canada Border Service agents began questioning them about their son back home. They were given two choices: State their intention of sponsoring the child but return to India while Immigration reviewed their application, or, then and there, sign a declaration that they would never attempt to sponsor their son.
They said they agreed to the latter under duress and confusion following five hours of questioning.
Efforts to convince the former Conservative government to reunite the family failed.
Related
Immigration officers at the Canadian consulate in Delhi only added to their despair. One who reviewed their application in 2014 to have Daksh admitted on humanitarian and compassionate grounds concluded that Daksh was better off in India, residing in an environment “culturally and linguistically familiar to him.”
Daksh’s father has been in India helping to care for the boy.
The family and its supporters have been arguing that the child should receive a temporary resident permit that would allow the child to live with his parents in Canada until the paperwork is officially approved.
A group of supporters, led by the Rural Refugee Rights Network, attempted to deliver a petition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offices at noon on Tuesday but were turned away by security guards and directed to a public mailbox on Metcalfe Street.
The group of around 10 people next headed to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s offices at 300 Slater St. All were surprised to see McCallum standing near the entrance, smoking a cigarette. The minister was happy was speak with Bajaj and her supporters. He admitted to knowing nothing about the case, but promised to investigate. He took the group’s petition and posed for pictures before going inside.
To Matthew Behrens, co-ordinator at the Rural Refugee Rights Network, who dressed up as Santa Claus in hope of attracting more attention to Bajaj’s story, the ending couldn’t have been better.
“It’s just fantastic,” said Behrens. “We intended to hand this to the minister. He took it and said he would look into it.”
With files from Hugh Adami
查看原文...
Bhavna Bajaj managed to have an impromptu meeting Tuesday with Canada’s Immigration Minister John McCallum and hand-deliver a petition with more than 12,000 signatures supporting her cause. McCallum promised to look into the case.
Wiping back tears later, Bajaj called the chance meeting a “miracle” and said it has renewed her hopes that her child will soon join her in Canada.
“Now he knows my story,” said Bajaj. “I hope he comes to some decision soon.”
Bajaj and her husband, Aman Sood, have been separated since 2013 from their son, Daksh, who lives with his paternal grandparents in India. The couple’s troubles with Immigration, first reported by the Citizen a year ago, stem from failing to disclose their plans to sponsor the boy and bring him over once they had established their lives in Canada.
After the couple landed in Montreal on Jan. 28, 2013, Canada Border Service agents began questioning them about their son back home. They were given two choices: State their intention of sponsoring the child but return to India while Immigration reviewed their application, or, then and there, sign a declaration that they would never attempt to sponsor their son.
They said they agreed to the latter under duress and confusion following five hours of questioning.
Efforts to convince the former Conservative government to reunite the family failed.
Related
- Adami: Couple pins hope on Trudeau government to be reunited with four-year-old son
- Adami: Parents wonder if their son, 4, will ever be reunited with them in Canada
- Adami: Family of Indian boy separated from parents receives good and bad news (with video)
Immigration officers at the Canadian consulate in Delhi only added to their despair. One who reviewed their application in 2014 to have Daksh admitted on humanitarian and compassionate grounds concluded that Daksh was better off in India, residing in an environment “culturally and linguistically familiar to him.”
Daksh’s father has been in India helping to care for the boy.
The family and its supporters have been arguing that the child should receive a temporary resident permit that would allow the child to live with his parents in Canada until the paperwork is officially approved.
A group of supporters, led by the Rural Refugee Rights Network, attempted to deliver a petition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offices at noon on Tuesday but were turned away by security guards and directed to a public mailbox on Metcalfe Street.
The group of around 10 people next headed to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s offices at 300 Slater St. All were surprised to see McCallum standing near the entrance, smoking a cigarette. The minister was happy was speak with Bajaj and her supporters. He admitted to knowing nothing about the case, but promised to investigate. He took the group’s petition and posed for pictures before going inside.
To Matthew Behrens, co-ordinator at the Rural Refugee Rights Network, who dressed up as Santa Claus in hope of attracting more attention to Bajaj’s story, the ending couldn’t have been better.
“It’s just fantastic,” said Behrens. “We intended to hand this to the minister. He took it and said he would look into it.”
With files from Hugh Adami
查看原文...
