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| One
of the most immediate issues that Somalis face on their arrival to Canada
is the immigration process. First, the group has to retain their
own lawyers, attend numerous interviews with authorities, write a coherent
statement regarding why they should be considered refugees and convince
the immigration officers and the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada, that
they have legitimate claims. When making a refugee claim in Canada,
the claimant has to remember exact dates and times of when events
have occurred. This is extremely difficult for Somalis who have a
tendency not to put emphasis on how far they travelled from one city to
another, or the date of when they left. This often leads to their
claim being rejected due to the inconsistencies or lack of facts.
Throughout this long process the claimant is living with the uncertainty
of what will happen to him or her and at the same time beginning the stressful
process of appealing the negative decision.
The
growing Somali community is considered to be one of the most disadvantaged
and at the same time most ambitious among the visible and ethnic minorities.
In many cases, Somali families fled Somalia and could only bring the number
of children the family can afford. In 1995, changes to the Immigration Act singled out Somalis without identity documents, insisting that they would receive "landed immigrant status" only after five years after recognition as convention refugees. This decision has had severe impact on the group's well-being in general. |
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The decision of who would depart and who would stay is the most difficult
one since there are mothers who leave young children behind in the hopes
of sponsoring them, once they become permanent residents. This process,
however, on average takes five years and some times families never succeed
in bringing their other children to Canada.
