On June 22, two hours after Senator Kim Pate announced a civil initiative that seeks to open negotiations on the repatriation of Canadians held in NE Syria, Global Affairs Canada issued its third forcible separation ultimatum to a number of mothers who have been illegally detained over four years in Northeast Syrian prison camps.
In a letter to two of the mothers’ legal counsel, Asiya Hirji, Department of Justice lawyers declared that the children could come to Canada on a flight expected to leave in early July, but only if they left their mothers behind, go into provincial care and possibly never see their mothers again. In late January, Global Affairs officials directly contacted the detained mothers with the ultimatum that if they did not give up their children within 10 days, there would be no more flights for Canadians out of the region, and the families would remain indefinitely detained. A second ultimatum was delivered to lawyers for the mothers in late March.
“With this third ultimatum, we have been informed that another Canadian repatriation flight is expected to leave in early July. These mothers have until June 26 to make an impossible choice with respect to their children: keep them imprisoned with their mothers, or free in Canada without their moms, and with virtually no prospect of reunification” Hirji says. “It is truly disheartening to witness Canada's unyielding cruelty in its refusal to display any compassion towards these women and children who have endured prolonged suffering. The actions taken by Global Affairs in maintaining their initial ultimatum are particularly distressing for these mothers and their children. The international community has rightfully criticized the extreme cruelty embedded in this approach, as it directly contradicts Global Affairs' own policy framework. This framework explicitly asserts that children should not be separated from their parents unless truly exceptional circumstances arise. Canada, however, has failed to present any such extraordinary circumstances that would justify pressuring these mothers into effectively rendering their children as orphans”
Hirji filed Temporary Resident Permit applications for two mothers in February, noting that the average processing time for such a permit to come to Canada from Syria is 60 days, and it’s now double that time. As a result, she has filed an emergency mandamus court application seeking a positive decision on the permits so that the mothers and children could remain together.
“I am so tired and drained from this emotional rollercoaster of being asked every two months whether I would be OK to never see my children again as the price of their getting out of this horrible place,” says “Zahra,” a mother of three children in the camps, who issued a statement through Hirji. “What is the Canadian government thinking? Are the Global Affairs officials issuing us this ultimatum parents themselves? What would they do in this situation? It’s an impossible choice. The only adult these children have known all their lives, both in a war zone and in prison camps, is me. All of us will fall apart without each other.”
Hirji points out that the United Nations, Save the Children, Medicines Sans Frontieres and other international aid organizations report that conditions in the prison camps are akin to torture, and they have been consistently described as one of the worst places in the world for children to endure. She also notes: “Global Affairs is violating domestic and international human rights commitments to these children and their mothers.”
In another statement released through lawyer Hirji, long-time camp detainee “Asiya,” an engineer and mother of three children who all require medical assistance, said: “In January, I was told I have a week and a half to decide whether I give up my children forever or keep them here where life is like a prolonged death sentence. I was also told I could not change my mind at a later date because, in their words, ‘Canada will not be coming here again.’”
“Asiya” asks, “Other countries have taken back mixed-nationality mothers and children, so why not Canada, which everyone knows has a reputation for supporting families? I also question why I am being asked by Global Affairs to not only give up my children, but also to return to my country of birth despite the obvious risk that I would face detention, torture or worse.”
Indeed, it is not uncommon for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to issue permits to allow mixed nationality families to remain together. It’s also part of IRCC’s mandate according to its own domestic legislation and its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Advocates for the detainees are calling on Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to immediately issue temporary resident permits so the mothers can come to Canada with their kids.
“Canada led a 57-nation effort to denounce and end arbitrary detention, and yet its policy regarding these Muslim women, kids, and men in northeast Syria has perpetuated that very human rights violation,” explains Matthew Behrens of Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, an organization which has led a campaign for repatriation. “Canada has fought for years to prevent their return, despite knowing the brutality of their conditions as well as the long-standing Syrian Kurdish authorities’ request to come and collect their citizens. This is child abuse and woman abuse all rolled into one, the very crimes this government repeatedly says must be ended."