[hwacker]

AIDS stay-behinds


Up to 150 delegates to last month's T.O. conference have filed refugee claims

By TOM GODFREY, TORONTO SUN



A top Eritrean AIDS activist is among some 150 delegates of last month's international AIDS conference in Toronto who stayed behind and filed refugee claims in a bid to remain in Canada, immigration officials confirm.

Amanuel Tesfamichael, 32, had to sprint to a waiting car at Pearson airport to escape Eritrean agents as he arrived for the AIDS 2006 conference.

Most of the claimants have the deadly disease and include a large group of women from hardest-hit South Africa and citizens of El Salvador, Eritrea, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

"It feels good to be free," said Tesfamichael, who has the disease. "I like Canada and the people here."

The activist, who is founder of Eritrea's 6,000-member association for people living with AIDS, was allowed to travel to Canada on the condition he surrender his passport to two government minders, who were also delegates.

Tesfamichael said he was given his passport for processing on landing at Pearson and managed to bolt to a pre-determined meeting with men who spirited him to a waiting car.

"I was only allowed to leave my homeland for 10 days," he said. "The government didn't want me to leave the country."

Many of the claimants are staying at Toronto hostels awaiting hearing dates before an immigration board, officials said.

24,000 PARTICIPANTS

Canadian immigration spokesman Karen Shadd-Evelyn confirmed yesterday that up to 150 claims were received from the 24,000 participants at the Aug. 13-18 conference.

"We can't talk about specific claims," Shadd-Evelyn said. "We cannot release their country of origins or other information."

Francisco Rico-Martinez, of the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto, said three of the claimants -- Tesfamichael, a man from El Salvador and a woman from Zimbabwe -- were referred to his "gender-friendly" hostel.

"Both of the men have AIDS," Rico-Martinez said yesterday. "They face persecution and discrimination at home."

He said Tesfamichael faces persecution or jail if he returns to Eritrea for violating the 10-day permit.

Rico-Martinez said the claimants are treated in their native countries as outcasts, or have little or no medicine. He said some are discriminated against by doctors, who don't want to treat them.

Joan Anderson, a senior adviser of AIDS 2006, said 14,000 of the delegates were from outside North America.

Melissa Anderson, of the Immigration and Refugee Board, said it'll take about a year before the claimants find out if they're accepted in Canada. About 48% of all claimants are accepted in Canada as refugees.






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Here we go, who's going to pay for these people in 5 years ?

We all know the outcome of this disease and the costs to keep a person with drugs to keep them alive. Health care in Canada is in bad shape but this isn't going to help things, they will move to the front lines pushing Canadians aside just because of time and severity issues. Compassion is needed but why are we letting people with AIDS into Canada?

Now we are screwed with the costs also. Who wanted this conference in Toronto? Maybe they should foot the bill.


Let the flaming begin, Just remember Canada has people with health problems already.

[mspurrell]

Why can't we just kill everyone with AIDS then it wouldn't exist anymore? Sounds cruel but kill some people now save a few more in the future.

[hwacker]

"Tesfamichael said he was given his passport for processing on landing at Pearson and managed to bolt to a pre-determined meeting with men who spirited him to a waiting car "


I think that's illegal, the Canadians that arraigned this should be in jail.

[daTerminehtor]

Like people couldn't see this coming a mile away.

Quick and dirty solution?
Accept/process refugee claims in the native country at the local Canadian embassy. In my view, if you have the means to exit your country...

Sure, there are, on occasion, incidents where this is not possible, but not in this case surely.

This was planned from the get go, and inicidents like this have been going on for far too long.

I recall an incident of our east coast whereby a large ship full of claimants arrived.

This is just silly.

[hwacker]

Where do we draw line?

By JOE WARMINGTON

Who are they?

Where are they? How much will it cost to treat them?

When it comes to the dozens of refugee claimants with HIV or AIDS, these are the kind of answers Canadians are not allowed to know.

But you are allowed to pay for it. And you will.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said it will demand answers on the cost of housing these applicants as excited immigration lawyers trip over each other to get to the trough. It's payday -- and you know who is doing the paying.

Out there somewhere there's 150 refugee claimants, many with HIV, who skipped authorities and didn't leave after last month's AIDS conference.

It looks like an orchestrated campaign of people jumping the immigration queue. While many are in hiding, several have come forward with their sad, sympathetic stories. You have to feel for them but there are rules here. In yesterday's paper veteran Sun scribe Tom Godfrey quoted HIV-positive claimant Amanuel Tesfamichael, 32, saying, "It feels good to be free. I like Canada and the people here."

Sure he does. He will get a full immigration hearing and his HIV problem is now also ours. Sources say the cost of treating an AIDS patient can reach $1 million per year.

And there is the cost of housing these people while they wait for their hearings. Somebody has to stand up for the taxpayer, who has to foot that bill.

"That's not right," said Neil Desai, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, adding they should "head back (to their own countries) and follow the (proper) process."

'THAT'S NOT RIGHT'

The CTF will demand an audit. "It's not fair to Canadian citizens here, paying taxes," he said.

The problem with this kind of story is it's difficult to criticize without being labelled discriminatory. "Be careful what you write!" warns a colleague.

It's an interesting irony because these "refugees" are trying to come to a country where you can have an opposing view without fear of jail time and I understand why they want to come to a place where they will be housed and cared for medically. My question is, who put them up to this?

Is there a secret, systematic plan in the AIDS world? Several of the claimants interviewed by my colleague, Alan Cairns, indicated there was a booth at the conference that referred them to lawyers on how to stay here. Is that legal? Will there be an investigation?

It's doubtful since it looks like the UN is supportive.

"Refugees and other displaced persons should not be seen as a burden to the country of asylum but rather as change agents who can help fight HIV and AIDS together," Paul Spiegel, UNHCR's senior HIV/AIDS technical officer, said recently.

Change agents? Political correctness is going to destroy us. We can't be afraid of our own shadows. We have to stand up for the integrity of our laws sometimes. If not, why even have borders or guidelines? Why not let everybody in?

LOOKS PREMEDITATED

This looks premeditated and seems to be an open road for people crashing our country while we are too gutless to protest. This has happened at other AIDS conferences and Godfrey wrote how Tesfamichael had to "sprint to a waiting car at Pearson to escape Eritrean agents."

Interesting. When was this planned? Will the accomplices face charges?

Meanwhile, thousands are trying to get in here legally -- and thousands of others are trying to bring over children or parents. It's slow and tedious but they follow the procedures, some of which discriminate against the aged and ill. They are all subjected to AIDS tests and if they fail, they are not accepted. It's too bad but that's the way it is. There are standards that must be met. But here you have a bunch of people who would not pass that test, already here and burdening our already overworked medical system.

Here's a question: Where do we draw the line?








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