A Peruvian refugee who has suffered domestic violence has to leave Quebec, where he has lived for almost 20 years, to say goodbye to his 16-year-old daughter.
“I’m stressed, I’m scared, I’m in pain. I will have to leave my daughter here,” says Gledicia Dimitla Sedano Rivera, her voice shaking on the line.
The 52-year-old, who has lived in the country for almost 20 years, only knew a few months ago that she had to leave the country on July 1st. The reason: she failed to mention to the Canadian authorities that she was married in her country of origin.
“You should know that the couple got married after three or four months of dating and that her then-husband left her without a trace a few weeks later,” said Gozde Erdogan, a paralegal at Montreal law firm Etude Légale Stewart Istvanffy.
The woman firmly believed that her Peruvian marriage had been annulled. However, the legal advice he had been given by a lawyer he met in Peru was wrong.
In 2012 she returned to Peru to visit her ailing father and tell him that she was getting married again. At that time, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began asking her about her marital status. In 2016, her refugee status was officially revoked.
However, the Laval resident is said to have experienced excruciating cases of physical and sexual violence in her country and is a “model immigrant” with a stable job, good relationships with her colleagues and her landlord, according to reports from Gozde Erdogan’s cabinet. Law Firm Stewart Istvanffy.
Despite this, she was unable to defend her case or even file a humanitarian application that would allow an immigrant to apply for a special permit to stay in Canada.
Heartbreaking goodbyes
Her daughter Stephanie is severely affected by this situation. The one who did impressively in school now fails three courses and suffers from stress-related health problems.
For her safety, she will remain in the country and continue her studies there, but the thought of being separated from her mother breaks the heart of the 16-year-old teenager.
“It won’t be easy without them,” she says in a tight voice.
Ever since she found out she had to leave the country, Gledicia Dimitla Sedano Rivera has suffered from several health issues, including anxiety, severe skin problems, muscle pain and partial paralysis on her left side.
Many associations, notably the Regroupement Québécois des centers d’aide et de Lutte contre les aggressions sxuels, the Association of Women’s Homes and the Fédération des femmes du Québec, have come together to denounce this situation and have “reasonable grounds to believe that that this is the case”. “She faces a significant risk to her safety if she is deported to Peru” and that she “has no close relatives here to confide in with her daughter.”
An open letter is currently circulating online, which has already been signed by several hundred people, including MPs Manon Massé and Vincent Marissal.
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