Help Canadian citizen Abdihakim Mohamed to come home to his family in Canada

Posted on Jun 30 2009 - 7:15pm by News Desk
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Al Shabaab oo ka hadalay dagaalo ka kala dhacay Gobolada Banaadir iyo Gedo

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Maxaa sababay in xiligaan Xasan Sheekh iscal la dhaho (Xog Muhiim ah)

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UN Envoy Warns Violence May Force Diplomats Out Of Somalia

Al-shaab haah

Dahir Amiin Jeesow: “Al-shabaab halala dagaalamo yaana loo kala harin”

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Madaxweynaha Banaadir State oo dowlada Soomaaliya eedeeye iyo arimo kale…

canadaAbdihakim Mohamed, aged 25, autistic, without his primary caregiver, denied passport, stuck in Kenya for over 3 Years

 

INTRODUCTION
Abdihakim Mohamed is a 25-year-old Canadian citizen who is at grave risk both in Kenya and, should he be deported to his birth country, Somalia, unless Ottawa acts immediately to bring him back to Canada in order to rejoin his mother and father.  For over three years, efforts to have him brought home have been met by a bureaucratic brick wall.

 

 

In Kenya, Mr. Mohamed faces a life where he is without adequate supervision and care, as well as the stigma against individuals with disabilities, and the risk of being caught in the rash of extra-judicial killings by Kenyan police.  He is also at risk, as someone identifiable by his Somali heritage, of deportation to an even more dangerous conflict zone because Mr. Mohamed does not have Canadian ID with him.
Note that with respect to Somalia, the federal government has issued an “OFFICIAL WARNING: Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada advises against all travel in Somalia.  Canadians in this country should leave.  There is no resident Canadian government office in Somalia, and the Government of Canada cannot provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens in distress in Somalia.”

To save Mr. Mohamed from the fate that the Canadian government warns against, all that would be required to bring him home is a one-way travel document or replacement passport.

But the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) is refusing to issue him one, coming up with one excuse after another. With each day that goes by, Mr. Mohamed, both as a Canadian of Somali heritage as well as someone who requires constant care, is in danger of arrest, imprisonment, and worse. (In fact, he has already been arrested twice and poorly treated by Kenyan authorities who, discovering he was Canadian, figured they could rely on a bribe to have him released. This pattern might escalate to further arrests and requests for bribe money).  A recent Human Rights Watch report that was published in March 2009 provides documentation proving the horrendous abuses that Somali refugees and migrants face in Kenya.  These include extortion, detention, violence, and deportation at the hands of corrupt and violent Kenyan police.    

Canadian officials have alleged that Mr. Abdihakim is an “imposter” whom his mother is trying to “smuggle” into Canada (relying on the fact that there are very few family photos — some Muslims do not take photos of one another unless for official reasons — and that Mr. Mohamed had a good command of certain details, which they concluded was a sign that he does NOT have autism. Anyone who knows anything about autism would conclude otherwise.  Many affidavits from people who can attest to Mr. Mohamed’s identity have been filed with the Canadian government.)  Mr. Mohamed has even offered to submit to DNA testing but Passport Canada hasn’t taken him up on the offer. 

Just as popular pressure helped bring home Abousfian Abdelrazik, we are calling on people across this country to once again write and call the Minister responsible, Lawrence Cannon, and ask that he do the right thing.  Below is a section on steps you can take to Bring. Mr. Mohamed home.

LINK TO INTERVIEW ON CBC’S THE CURRENT FROM JUNE 24, 2009:

 

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200906/20090624.html

 

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TAKING ACTION
 

 

1. Please write a polite, simple letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, copying Stephen Harper and your MP, calling on him to stand up for the right of Mr. Abdihakim Mohamed to come home, and to issue him a a passport or other appropriate travel document to ensure he can be brought back to Canada. Phone calls are helpful too.
Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Telephone: (613) 992-5516
Fax: (613) 992-6802
Email:

Stephen Harper
Telephone: (613) 992-4211
Fax: (613) 941-6900
Email:

Contact details of MPs via www.parl.gc.ca

(click on “Members of Parliament (Current)”).
2. Please share this email with your networks.

 

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