A rally was held in Montreal on Sunday to commemorate Fritznel Richard, a migrant of Haitian origin who was found dead near Roxham Road a few weeks ago.
• Also read: Migrant frozen to death at border: Dropped off in the middle of nowhere for $800
• Also read: Migrant frozen to death at the border: dumped in the middle of a storm by his smuggler
• Also read: The Haitian community is shocked by the death of migrant Fritznel Richard
Relatives and people from the Haitian community gathered at Complexe Guy-Favreau on Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to Mr Richard.
Remember that Fritznel Richard, 44, died of hypothermia in late December while attempting to cross the Canada-US border to join his wife and baby who were in Florida. His body was found on January 5th.
“It moved me a lot. I was really sad when I found out that my boyfriend was gone forever. I’m here to offer my condolences,” said one of Mr Richard’s relatives.
“The best way for us [de lui rendre hommage], it would be to have one status for everyone. That’s why we fight. We think that treating people equally and having access to the same resources (…) can avoid these kinds of problems,” said Aboubacar Kane, spokesman for the organization Solidarité sans frontières, which organized the event alongside the Soignons la Justice social collective.
The two organizations believe that Canada’s immigration laws, particularly the Safe Third Countries Agreement, “Mr. forced Richard to cross a forest in the middle of a snowstorm to try to meet his family for the holidays” and that his death “is a direct result of the violence of the immigration system in Canada,” read a joint press release, which was released on Sunday morning.
The vigil organizers are demanding status for all, an end to detention and deportation, and the opening of borders.