Guineans stage protest against deportations

Members of Montreal’s Guinean community protested on Sunday, hoping to stop deportations to their homeland.

Mohamed Barri, who came to Canada as a refugee in 2011, said he doesn’t want to be sent back to the West African country because parts of the government are corrupt and he fears for his safety.

“I work and pay taxes and contribute to Canadian society,” he told protesters at the rally at the Mont-Royal métro station. “I want to stay here.”

Dominque Kpoghomou, a longtime member of the community, said refugees don’t want to return home for many reasons. Some are forced into arranged marriages and others are angered by corruption in parts of the government.

“People who have come here love Canada and want to stay here, even if it is hard at first with the winter,” he said.

The protesters and their supporters are calling on Ottawa to end deportations to Guinea.

According to the Montreal Guinean community, requests for asylum since December have been refused en masse. Deportation had slowed to a trickle during the Ebola epidemic from 2013 to 2016. But now about 10 people from the community are facing deportation.

“It’s difficult to stop a deportation — the success rate is about two per cent,” said Mostafa Henaway of the Immigrant Workers Centre, which is supporting the public appeal from the Montreal action committee Guineans in Support of Status for All.

The committee is demanding permanent residency for all those facing deportation. Many of them have been living in Montreal for years.

They are well integrated in society, Henaway said. Moreover, human rights organizations have reported Guinea is grappling with high unemployment, regional instability, organized crime and a strong military presence.

The committee is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to honour his words. In January, Trudeau tweeted: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”

According to the Refugee and Immigration Board of Canada, 10 asylum seekers from Guinea have been rejected since June 30, and another 63 claims are pending.