NEWS
Monday, September 14, 2015 15
Refugee crisis
» continued from cover
complexities involved in refugee applications from
Turkey,” the Ottawa Citizen reports.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, however,
says it never received a refugee application for that
particular family, though it did receive an application for Abdullah and Tima’s brother, Mohammed.
That application was rejected as incomplete. Chris
Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration,
said he received and read a personal letter from Tima
Kurdi pleading on behalf of Mohammed’s application.
As more contradictory facts emerge regarding
the Kurdi family’s application, it becomes clear that
Syrian refugees face extremely onerous complexities and red tape, especially those attempting to leave
from Turkey.
The Ottawa Citizen reports that there is a backlog of Syrian refugees in Turkey trying to escape to
Canada. Kurds routinely face extreme discrimination
in Syria, including the arbitrary denial of documents
such as passports, which prevents them from either
registering as refugees with the UN or applying for
the necessary exit visas to leave Turkey. Without correct paperwork, their ability to file for refugee status
in host countries is severely impaired. Entry into
Canada is almost impossible for those missing this
crucial paperwork; since Canada’s refugee policy has
been tightened, there are few other options for hopeful refugees.
The Canadian Council for Refugees is pushing for
Immigration Canada to implement temporary measures which would allow Syrians with family in
Canada to be allowed entry in order to process their
applications for immigration in safety. With legal
channels effectively barred, growing numbers of desperate refugees are fleeing Syria throu