Siting 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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