The federal government has agreed to, for several years, have been living in detention camps in Syria for people suspected of having ties to the Islamic State, according to a lawyer representing them.
For years, the government has faced a political dilemma: Leave these Canadians to languish, or invite domestic blowback by bringing back people whose association with a terrorist group makes them, in the eyes of some, a security risk. Aid groups have long decried the dire conditions in the camps, but the government has still refused to repatriate its citizens in all but a handful of cases.
Majidpour’s long criminal history offers a case study in the way B.C.’s courts treat the tiny number of people who repeatedly assault strangers. These offenders – most of whom are battling homelessness, mental-health issues, addictions or all three personal crises at once – routinely spend a few weeks or months in provincial jail before being released. Often, they are arrested again within days or weeks, reports Mike Hager.
Kerli Vasquez holds son Greike in their tent in Necocli, two months after they arrived in hopes of a crossing to Panama via the Darien Gap.Opinion: For Venezuelans, Colombia’s roads lead to hope and dangerin search of a better life, with many crossing from one border to another, only to find closed doors. The forces and motives that propel them to leave are badly misunderstood in wealthier countries, by citizens and policymakers alike, Doug Saunders says.
In this first instalment of a year-long series devoted to gaining a deeper understanding of the global migration crisis, Saunders follows the story of Kerli Vasquez, who, like millions of other Venezuelans, has been on the road ever since her country erupted in a political and economic disaster that fractured and scattered her family, her education and her future.
How is it being funded?