Who is crossing the border and where are they from?
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Qui ? -- en français |
Woman from Eritrea approaching the Roxham Road border
Since we’ve been greeting asylum seekers at Roxham Road we have met people from over 20 countries. In the three years from 2017 to 2019, the top ten countries of origin of irregular asylum seekers were Nigeria, Haiti, Columbia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey, Sudan, Angola, Eritrea and USA (USA born children of asylum seekers). Other countries include Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Burundi and Yemen. These countries are affected in different ways by war, conflict, persecution, torture, human rights abuses, genocide, terrorism, sexual violence, climate change and famine. In some places people have endured decades of conflict, upheaval and displacement. (see brief info on some countries in the PDF document below). The numbers of irregular asylum seekers have fallen from 20,593 in 2017 to 16,503 in 2019.
Imagine for one moment what it would be like to be in their shoes. To leave behind all that is familiar and has shaped you as a human being: home, loved ones and community, possessions, jobs, culture and language. Too often refugees are rejected or stigmatized, but they are only human beings like us, fleeing terrible situations and seeking safety. People crossing irregularly are not 'illegal immigrants', nor are they 'queue jumpers', as refugee claims are treated in the order received.
The 1951 Refugee Convention, ratified by Canada, and the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.133) state that asylum seekers won’t be penalized if they enter a country irregularly, providing they present themselves without delay to the authorities.
Imagine for one moment what it would be like to be in their shoes. To leave behind all that is familiar and has shaped you as a human being: home, loved ones and community, possessions, jobs, culture and language. Too often refugees are rejected or stigmatized, but they are only human beings like us, fleeing terrible situations and seeking safety. People crossing irregularly are not 'illegal immigrants', nor are they 'queue jumpers', as refugee claims are treated in the order received.
The 1951 Refugee Convention, ratified by Canada, and the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.133) state that asylum seekers won’t be penalized if they enter a country irregularly, providing they present themselves without delay to the authorities.
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Canada, in part because of our geographic location, has traditionally received relatively few asylum seekers. We also prevent asylum seekers arriving here through the Safe Third Country Agreement (see Why page), by fining airlines who bring people without proper documents into Canada and imposing visa requirements on ‘refugee producing’ countries. Since 2010 Canada has invested millions to fund police training and surveillance equipment in 7 Asian countries with a history of human rights abuses, including Myanmar where a government sponsored genocide has forced nearly 1 million Rohingya Muslims out of the country. This at the same time as the Canadian parliament denounced the genocide. In October 2019, Canada was also a part in Operation Turquesa in South America, designed ‘’to disrupt the primary smuggling routes used by migrants to make their way to the U.S. and Canada.’’ And has given at least $5 million to Interpol since 2017 as part of the federal Migrant Smuggling Prevention Strategy.
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Refugee: someone who has been forced to flee their country because of war, persecution (because of race, religion, political views, nationality, gender etc.) and/or torture, and violence and is recognized as a refugee in their host country. Asylum Seeker or Refugee Claimant: a person who has sought refuge in another country and made a claim to be recognized as a refugee. Resettled Refugee: a person identified (usually) by the UN Refugee Agency as a refugee - who is living in a refugee camp or in precarious conditions - and is accepted by another host country for permanent resettlement. |
2 Though the numbers of refugee claims made in Canada have risen in the last three years , they do not constitute a crisis by any stretch and represent a very small percentage of the nearly 71 million people who are currently forcibly displaced world wide: 25.9 million refugees, 3.5 million asylum seekers and 41 million internally displaced. In 2019 Canada received a total of 63,830 asylum claims (both ‘regular’ and ‘irregular’) which is 1.8% of the world’s asylum seekers. As well an estimated 29,950 refugees were resettled here the same year.
We are fortunate to live in a stable country, one of the world’s wealthiest, with the resources to help those who seek refuge here. 84% of refugees and asylum seekers live in poor and less developed countries with very few means to cope with the new arrivals. Compare Canada’s share to the 3.7 million refugees in Turkey, 1.4 million in Pakistan and 1.2 million in Uganda. Uganda one of the world’s poorest countries, with a long history of conflict, has nonetheless shown generosity in assisting refugees. Their program is under threat because wealthy donor nations are not giving sufficient support (see box below for details).
We are fortunate to live in a stable country, one of the world’s wealthiest, with the resources to help those who seek refuge here. 84% of refugees and asylum seekers live in poor and less developed countries with very few means to cope with the new arrivals. Compare Canada’s share to the 3.7 million refugees in Turkey, 1.4 million in Pakistan and 1.2 million in Uganda. Uganda one of the world’s poorest countries, with a long history of conflict, has nonetheless shown generosity in assisting refugees. Their program is under threat because wealthy donor nations are not giving sufficient support (see box below for details).
Uganda’s Refugee Program
Uganda – a country of nearly 43 million, where 42% of the population live on 2$ a day or less – ‘’has one of the most generous and progressive approaches to hosting refugees in the region, if not the world. Refugees are given relative freedom of movement, equal access to primary education, healthcare and other basic social services, and the right to work and own a business. Refugees are hosted in designated areas where they are allocated pieces of land to put up shelters, grow food and start their own businesses.’’ 64% of the 1.2 million refugees there are children.
Uganda – a country of nearly 43 million, where 42% of the population live on 2$ a day or less – ‘’has one of the most generous and progressive approaches to hosting refugees in the region, if not the world. Refugees are given relative freedom of movement, equal access to primary education, healthcare and other basic social services, and the right to work and own a business. Refugees are hosted in designated areas where they are allocated pieces of land to put up shelters, grow food and start their own businesses.’’ 64% of the 1.2 million refugees there are children.
People seeking asylum here want to work and regain a measure of control over their shattered lives. Once considered eligible to make a refugee claim, they can receive a work permit quite quickly. Some will need the basic social assistance from the provincial government (in Quebec it is $628/month (for a single person) until they find work. This is in line with the majority of western countries where support to asylum seekers paid as a direct benefit or via reception centers is the norm. Once established here, refugees often make significant contributions to Canadian society and will continue to do so (read and watch here the individual stories of refugees who have come to Canada: www.unhcr.org/then-and-now, also check out our webpage Refugees: 10 Myths and Facts).
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