Calgary woman and daughter desperate to be saved from deportation

A Calgary woman stuck in a legal stalemate and who has been living in Canada for over two years is desperate to stay in the country and not risk being found by what she calls an abusive and dangerous ex-husband in Mongolia, 660 NEWS has learned.

Ariunaa Demberel, along with her daughter Enkhjin who attends Western Canada High School, are scheduled to be deported on Monday at 7 a.m. MT, more than two years after they fled to Canada to seek asylum.

She’s already met with the office of Calgary MP and Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr and in a last-ditch effort, she wrote a letter to Immigration Minister John McCallum on Friday.

“I am so desperate at the moment and was wondering if you could spare us in Canada,” she says in the letter. “I have nothing to hide and ready to provide all the papers if you need them.”

She arrived with her daughter on July 16, 2014 from Mongolia, claiming asylum two months later from an ex-husband she claims repeatedly beat and raped her, as well as beat her daughter, now a senior at Western Canada.

Unfamiliar with a new country, she applied for refugee status, but lost her case in December of 2014 and although she hired a lawyer, she lost both her appeal in April 2015 and in a federal court review in 2016 because of a lack of documents.

Refugee status applications require certain documents that she doesn’t have, because she fled her home in a hurry and even though she has a lawyer, she hasn’t been allowed to speak at hearings.

Yet she has been approved for work permits and currently has three jobs at Community Natural Foods, Banana Republic and the Hampton Inn Hotel.

“I never mind working hard and we have managed to get back on our feet,” she said in her letter. “Lots of positive things happened to us over the past two years, we are so grateful and feel blessed to each day living in Canada.”

HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSION APPLICATION

Eventually, her lawyer who submitted an application to stay in Canada for Humanitarian and Compassion grounds, which is eligible for those who aren’t normally able to become permanent citizens and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

According to Canadian government rules, factors include how settled someone is in Canada, general family ties to Canada, the best interest of any children involved and what could happen to the applicant if the request is not granted.

Although the application was sent in April, it was returned for an unknown reason and resubmitted in June.

Further adding to the problems is the requirement someone can only request one if they don’t already have a pending refugee claim.

Despite guidelines listed above, the government says H&C decision makers will not assess risk factors such as persecution, risk to life, cruel and unusual treatment or punishment

Another hearing was held Saturday, with a decision set for Sunday, but the family isn’t hopeful.

CLAIMS OF ABUSE AND FEAR FOR HER FAMILY’S LIFE

Demberel claims her ex-husband’s abuse began while they were married, but she went to her father, who was the head of the family and she eventually got a divorce.

She completed her studies and went into accounting she says, but after her father died, she says her ex-husband used his power and connections to find and kidnap her and she was harassed, beaten and raped for months.

The following is an excerpt from a court documents WARNING GRAPHIC:

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Demberel says she’s more concerned for her daughter than herself.

“She has no life in Mongolia,” she said. “We are so scared to death and writing this desperate email with hope.”

She said she’s hopeful about the promises Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made regarding immigration and she hopes to go back into finance and for her daughter to become an architect.

“We do believe in ourselves and we can assure we will be proud citizens of Canada, if we will have once chance to stay and continue to live in this great country, which saved us and gave freedom for the last two years,” she said.

While her lawyer is appealing the court’s letter of deferral and filing a motion for them to stay temporarily, the deportation order remains in effect.

 

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