The bodies of members of the Iordache family were found in the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne, near the American border, last Saturday. Who was this family and what does their story tell us about the treatment of Roma asylum seekers in Canada? Converse has investigated.
Florin Iordache came to Canada four years ago from Craiova, Romania, with his wife, Cristina Monalisa Zenalida Iordache. They settled in Toronto, where they had two children: a girl, Evelin, and a boy, Eylen. On March 29, they had to report to Pearson Airport in Toronto to be deported to Romania. A few days later, police from the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation recovered their bodies from the St. Lawrence River, near the Canadian-American border.
Relatives want people to know that the Iordaches were an honest Roma family. Florin was a pianist and worked in the construction and household sectors in Toronto. He came from a family of traditional Roma musicians. “I knew Florin since he was a child. We met in Italy when I was living there. I know his mom and dad. They were a musical family, they played music on the streets, on the subway, and at weddings to make a living. They worked hard for a living. They were honest,” Emil Julien Costache, who also comes from Craiova and now lives in California, tells us on the phone. “I want Canada to know that it was an honest family and that it is sensitive to what our communities in Europe are experiencing,” adds Marcelone Pavel, a Toronto resident who saw the family a week before leaving.
After four years in Canada, the birth of two children, two asylum applications, an application for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) refused in 2022 and an appeal of this decision (also refused), the Roma family was facing deportation.
On March 29, instead of ending up in Romania, the Iordaches took the boat to the United States. Like other asylum seekers facing a deportation order from Canada, Florin and Monalisa, accompanied by their one-and-a-half-year-old boy and two-year-old daughter, donate their last savings to a Montreal smuggler who promises to take them to the United States via the Akwesasne reserve. Having brothers settled in the United States, Florin decided to cross the St. Lawrence River with his family in the hope of finding refuge across the border. “His brother told him to go and join him in the United States, because in Romania, there are problems, there is a lot of racism. That's why he took the road to go to the United States,” explains Emil Julien Costache.
Faced with the threat of deportation, some risk their lives not to return to Europe. Two weeks before the Iordache left, another Roma family living in Canada crossed the border via the part of the St. Lawrence River that is on the Akwesasne reserve. This family is currently in the United States, a source in the community confirms to us. “When smugglers tell you that they pass through a path to cross a border, you don't know what it is like, the path. I didn't know what the path was going to be, I just knew that I was going to a safer place for my children and grandchildren,” explains Emil Julien Costache, who entered the United States through Mexico. His son also arrived from Mexico in December with his pregnant wife. She fell across the border and lost her baby.
Why not go back to Romania?
In the city of Craiova there is one of the largest Roma neighborhoods in Europe. The minority there suffers from great racism. “When members of our communities try to go to the pool, they are refused entry because Romanians think we are dirty. In restaurants, they refuse to serve us. You can't take a taxi as a Roma, Romanian drivers refuse you, and you can't get a job either. There is discrimination when you are looking for a job, and we know that you are Roma, people refuse to hire you. Even when Roma manage to find a job, these are jobs that do not allow them to live properly. There is a lot of racism against Roma in Romania,” explains Emil, who is a long-time activist.
“Many Roma leave the country to settle in western European countries, but today, with the poor representation of Roma in the big media in Europe, when there are problems, the Roma are always blamed. We are the scapegoat. And that's why so many Roma want to go to Canada or the United States,” explains the exiled.
This is also the case of David Laurentiu Cobzaru, who arrived as a Roma asylum seeker last November. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, David first left the country for Germany, where he lived for several years. “I was afraid and, at the same time, I was tired of having to prove that I was a human being,” he tells us from Toronto, where he lives today. In Romania, David's house was set on fire by one of his Romanian neighbours. So he went to Germany, where he was beaten in the street by neo-Nazis who attacked Roma. His loved ones also saw their Houses to be burned by neo-Nazis in Germany. “A neo-Nazi tried to burn the house of another close friend of mine by setting it on gas in the middle of the night,” adds the trained social worker.
He is very saddened by the tragic end of the Iordache family. David Laurentiu understands why they decided to risk their lives to cross the border by boat, rather than return to Romania. The Roma asylum seeker would like to know that there is no justice for Roma in Romania and, more broadly, in Europe. “In Romania, the laws state that everyone is equal and has the same rights, but in reality, it is something else. Non-Roma see us as animals, not as human beings. People discriminate against us, hate us, and hurt us. People here should know that we are leaving Romania because of discrimination. We are beaten by the police, we are not protected by the government, and when we Roma are beaten, discriminated against, or harmed, nothing is done. Conversely, when a Roma does something wrong, everyone talks about it in the media, and the entire community is blamed. For my part, I prefer to stay here and live in a peaceful society that values my rights than to return to Romania”, explains the father of the family.
The lawyer Marian Mandache worked for 20 years in Romania for an organization defending Roma rights, CRISS. He has pleaded cases of hate speech against the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Romania as well as cases of school segregation in Craiova and police abuse. “The fear and distress of this family must have been so great if they were prepared to risk their lives not to return to Romania.” He notes.
According to him, the case of the Iordache family proves that the Canadian immigration system is broken. “I think we failed to understand and analyze the circumstances of this family,” he tells us. What shocks Me Mandache is that the analysis of the request for a pre-removal risk assessment concluded that there was no risk in sending the Iordache family back to Romania. “Romania is a safe country for Romanian citizens, but for the Roma minority, it is not a safe country, because Roma suffer a lot of discrimination and racism there. Roma are sometimes refused in public spaces. They are more at risk of experiencing police brutality and are more at risk of being abandoned by the justice system as a result of incidents of police brutality. Roma men are more at risk of experiencing fatal hit and run than non-Roma men. In addition, Roma children are much more at risk of being victims of racial segregation in schools”, lists the lawyer of Roma origin, quoting a recent European Union report which concludes that 50% of Roma children in Romania suffer from segregation at school. “It is not a climate where Roma people can feel safe”, the specialist is outraged.
Racial persecution and its consequences
According to Ms. Mandache, asylum seekers who immigrate to Canada often come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. These exiles suffer racial or political persecution. Ms. Mandache notes that groups facing racial persecution are very vulnerable and often live below the poverty line. This is particularly the case of several Roma asylum seekers. They have little legal education and knowledge. “They experience racism, and that racism is very often integrated and accepted to some extent, and they don't realize how dangerous it is and how it affects them. When they are rejected by employers because of their ethnicity, or when the police mistreat them, these are things that have happened to them on a daily basis for years, recalls Marian Mandache. Some are illiterate, sometimes they don't understand how important it is to have access to reports. It takes money, knowledge, especially legal knowledge, to defend your case in court. These conditions are causing loss of life, as we saw with this family.”
Me Mandache remembers another Roma family from Romania, in Germany, who had to be deported and did not want to return to Romania. This family spent years locked up in German customs offices, without entering Romanian territory. The father ended up killing himself. “They were not equipped to fight in this legal battle, and the legal and immigration system let them down. Unfortunately, I think that in the case of the Iordaches, the system failed to give them a fair analysis of their circumstances.”
A system that failed
According to Jen Danch, a Toronto-based human rights lawyer, the irregular border crossing is a direct consequence of the Safe Third Country Agreement. “As a result of this agreement, the Lordaches were unable to cross the Canada-U.S. border at an official border crossing point and were also unable to apply for refugee status in the United States. Instead, they were forced to cross the treacherous waters of the St. Lawrence in a small, fragile boat,” she says. “What is happening in this country for Canadian children to die trying to leave Canada to go live undocumented in the United States?” ” continues the lawyer, who is also a consultant member of the Canadian Roma Alliance.
She denounces the political and legal strategies used over the past 15 years by the Canadian government to prevent Roma refugees from entering Canada. She cites examples of these maneuvers, including” The Harper government's advertising campaign in Hungary in 2013 to deter asylum seekers from coming to Canada and the unconstitutional list of designated countries of origin (POD), adopted in 2012, which refused asylum to Roma.”
This controversial list established a register of “safe countries” known as “designated countries of origin (POD)”, whose asylum seekers were treated differently because they came from so-called democratic nations. A large part of the countries on this list are countries with a large Roma population. Several have denounced this law as targeting this minority. Suspended in its application in 2019, However, the list of PODs still has side effects, believes Ms. Danch. “Even if the list of PODs has been eliminated, its racist consequences still persist,” she declares. Counsel recalls that, since the repeal of the list of PODs, members of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada have been making decisions related to asylum claims, contrary to what was done after the adoption of Bill C-31, when political considerations took precedence. As a result of the removal from the POD list, more Roma asylum seekers were able to access fairer and more equitable hearings. “However, the biased attitudes that were created by the POD list and the message it sent to Roma refugees that they are not welcome, that they are false refugees, and that they are unlikely to win their case persist and have an effect on Roma asylum seekers as well as on the officials who deal with their requests.”
Several requests for meetings have been submitted to the Canadian government by Roma civil society organizations over the past 10 years. They are urging Canada to review the treatment of Roma asylum seekers and, more broadly, the human rights situation of Roma populations. To date, these requests have not been answered. Faced with the tragedy of the Iordache, Roma civil society is calling on the government to act and support Roma organizations in Canada.
Me Mandache, a lawyer specializing in Roma rights, urges migration authorities to “understand that asylum seekers are human beings first and foremost.” “Their decisions may often be insufficiently justified or documented. In many cases, the system can be inhumane to these people. They are human beings, they are not monsters, and in many cases, asylum seekers and refugees are not treated humanely. In this case, the question is, “Did the Canadian justice and immigration system treat these migrants with dignity and justice?” ”, he asks.
Then, after a moment of reflection, the lawyer went on to recall that Saturday 8 April is International Roma Day and that it is celebrated around the world. He adds that a minute of silence will be observed during numerous events on the continent in memory of the Iordache family. “On this International Roma Day, we must not forget the challenges we face. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the daily lives of many Roma people. Very difficult lives, marked by racism and violence. I think we need to take a moment to reflect and see what we can do as a population in the face of these situations,” concludes Marian Mandache.
The family asks for the repatriation of the bodies, the authorities pass the ball to each other
Several relatives of the Iordache family as well as many Roma living in Canada have spoken to us over the past few days. All are calling on the Canadian government to be more sensitive to the persecution that Roma suffer in Romania and Eastern Europe. They also referred to the need to repatriate the bodies of the dead to Romania. Relatives of the Iordaches and the Roma community raise money at the Roma Church in Toronto to help the family repatriate their bodies and provide them with a culturally appropriate and dignified funeral. They fear that the Canadian government and the Romanian embassy in Canada will do nothing to bring the bodies of the four family members back to Romania, where Florin and Monalisa's parents want to bury their children and grandchildren.
In the meantime, Monalisa's father, Florin Caldararu, who lives in France, requested the repatriation to Romania of the bodies of his daughter, her son-in-law and their two children to Canadian government agencies and Romanian consular services in a letter of which La Converse obtained a copy. Deeply upset by the loss of his children, he only wants to be able to offer them a final goodbye worthy of their memory.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Romanian Embassy in Ottawa, the Consulate General of Romania in Ottawa, the Consulate General of Ottawa in Ottawa, the Consulate General of Romania in Montreal and the Consulate General of Romania in Vancouver, confirms “following the developments related to the tragic incident” and “being in contact with citizens who claim to be members of the victims' families [to provide] consular assistance in accordance with legal powers, if necessary”.
However, regarding the repatriation of the Iordarches, the Romanian embassy and consulate indicate that they have not received confirmation about the victims' citizenship. “In the absence of this notification, the Romanian missions cannot take measures to facilitate the repatriation of the bodies to Romania,” the Romanian Foreign Ministry replied by email to us by email from the Romanian Foreign Ministry through the Romanian diplomatic bodies in Canada.
According to information available to us, proof of identification has been sent to the embassy. It remains to be seen whether the fact that Eylen and Evelin, the two children of the Iordaches, were born in Canada represents an obstacle in the processing of this repatriation request. The embassy has still not confirmed anything to us in this regard.
According to our sources, the bodies of the deceased are in the Montreal morgue, and the autopsies have been completed. It is now possible to release the remains for repatriation. The Quebec coroner's office is also conducting an investigation into the deaths.. At the Consulate General of Romania in Montreal, employees explained to us that the repatriation of bodies is managed by private companies that take care of administrative tasks. It is up to the victims' families to assume the bill and pay the repatriation costs, told us an employee who wished to remain anonymous.
As for the consulate's role, it is limited to consular services, in particular to the provision of documents and the confirmation of identities. However, several funeral homes told us that the role of consular authorities on Canadian soil is to help grieving families organize a repatriation to their country of origin.
Repatriating remains is a long and expensive process. Various funeral homes in Montreal, including Alfred Dallaire Memoria, Urgel Bourgie and Aeterna, explained to us the procedures to be taken in the event of a request for repatriation to a foreign country. Some lounges take care of the entire repatriation process, but the cost of this care is $10,000 to $15,000 per person. In addition, authorization from the countries concerned is required (in this case, Canada must allow the remains to be taken out, and Romania must allow their arrival and burial). Finally, as victims' legal documents are required, the process involves the collaboration of the consulate.
But a question comes up among family members and among the Roma community in Canada: if the Canadian government planned to deport the Iordaches to Romania while they were alive, what does it intend to do with their remains now that they are dead? Who will pay for the repatriation of their bodies? The immigration lawyer who represented the Iordache family, Peter Ivanyi, believes that this is the responsibility of the state.
“I don't think the Romanian embassy will take this request as seriously,” he said. “I think that if the relatives could afford to pay for the repatriation, it would help the government to facilitate the process. If they can't afford it, I think the government should. I don't think they should have been deported; so, in the current situation, I understand the feeling of some people who think that, if the government was ready to pay to deport them, why is it not paying for their repatriation; and ultimately, maybe it will,” says Peter Ivanyi.
When asked about this, the Department of Global Affairs Canada simply replied that “the families and friends of the people who died near Akwesasne are in my thoughts.” At the time of writing, Geneviève Tremblay, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, confirms that the body is in contact with the Romanian authorities on this subject, without answering our question about the financial contribution of the Canadian government to the repatriation of the Iordaches. Based on the latest information available to us, Global Affairs Canada met with the Romanian embassy on Thursday morning (6 April) to facilitate repatriation. It remains to be seen who will have to foot the bill for this tragedy.
*With information from Djazia Bousnina and Melissa Haouari