To the Refugee Advocacy Community,
Can you help us?
In October 2015, our sponsorship group decided not only to sponsor a Syrian refugee family (who has resettled and thriving in Toronto) but also a Darfurian -Sudanese refugee. This young man is stuck in Amman, Jordan and is facing many dangers including illegal deportation back to Sudan, where he could face imprisonment, torture and even execution, simply for being a Darfurian who dared to escape Sudan. Our refugee is at the final stages of his refugee application process but during his interview at the Canadian embassy in Amman, the immigration official decided to reserve his decision on whether to approve our refugee for resettlement in Toronto. Our Access to Information request revealed, what we perceive to be, four minor concerns that the interviewer had about our refugee. However, the interviewer/immigration official encouraged our refugee to submit more supporting documentation about his plight and anything that would address his four concerns. As a result, we are looking for persons who have experience or expertise about the following topics and would be willing to write a 1-2 page letter that generally speaks to these issues, which we could submit to the Canadian embassy in Amman, Jordan. Naturally, we do not expect people to write a letter about our refugee's specific situation but rather some of the general challenges that Darfurian refugees face and to provide a broader context for the officials to consider. The four areas we need addressed are:
1) Challenges that Darfurians face in obtaining Sudanese passports and the inconsistencies of the Sudanese passport system.
2) That despite the fact that Darfurians are discriminated against for employment, they are still allowed to attend University, albeit at their peril (e.g. violent threats against Darfurian students). The immigration official found it hard to believe that if Darfurians faced great difficulties in being hired due to racism, that it was unlikely they would be allowed to attend University.
3) Challenges between translating from Arabic-Sudanese (Arabic spoken in Western Darfur) into 'Jordanian-Arabic' or 'Modern-Arabic' AND oral colloquial Sudanese-Arabic into standardized written Arabic; we believe that there have been mistranslation which have impacted the quality of his interview and application because of a lack of a proper/accurate translator and that such translation mistakes are not uncommon between the two dialects.
4) The impact that trauma and recalling specific traumatic effects can have on the quality of a refugee's interview (e.g. memory issues, etc.)
This is a particularly urgent request for the following reasons: In December 2015, United Nation registered Darfurian-Sudanese refugees were illegally deported back to Sudan for peacefully protesting in front of Amman's United Nation's building over the inequality of refugee services for Sudan refugees compared to other nationalities. What was not reported in the papers widely was that the Jordanian police also targeted refugees who had nothing to do with the protest and grabbed Sudanese refugees off the street, off buses and in other public places. Our refugee was not part of the protests but his roommates were grabbed by the police and deported back to Sudan while they were grocery shopping. Our refugee is in hiding as he fears that he will be randomly targeted by the police and deported too. There is a strong rumour that the Jordanian government is going to do another illegal round-up of Sudanese refugees in Amman in May and we are fighting against the clock to convince the Canadian embassy to finalize his refugee application and allow him and 9 other Sudanese refugees being sponsored by O.R.A.T. and 3 other private sponsorship groups, to come to Ontario, Canada.
If there is anything you can do to help us, or if you have any questions/concerns please contact "Many Villages Sponsorship Group" at [log in to unmask]
Thank-you for your time, concern and your dedication to refugees.
Sincerely,
Many Villages Sponsorship Group, Toronto, Canada
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