Seeking asylum before giving birth: Désirée's nightmare

*Warning, this article describes scenes of violence.

Desirée entered Canada as a tourist in February 2023 to give a conference in Vancouver. Her project? Have her research published following this conference in order to be admitted to a doctorate in England, where she then lived for almost a year. In preparation for this one-week trip, she brings a small suitcase, containing some clothes, and a small “surprise” passenger. In fact, she learned a few weeks before leaving that she was pregnant. Her husband encouraged her to make this short trip to Canada, because as usual, he supported her in her projects. They won't see each other again, or at least not for some time.

To understand how a brilliant young graduate, holding a work visa in the United Kingdom, ends up seeking asylum in Canada and living in a Montreal shelter, without speaking French, in the anxiety of giving birth far from her husband and loved ones, and the fear of having to continue to flee to stay alive, you need to understand her long and painful journey.

Living in the slums of Bukavu, at the mercy of armed groups

Désirée was born in the slums of Bukavu, a city in South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the border with Rwanda. In this region, which is coveted for its resources, militia attacks are regular. One morning, men break into her house. Desirée, then 20, and her 12-year-old nephew were abducted in front of their parents.

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The horror has only just begun. Three men raped her. “I don't know if I will ever recover from this trauma. The only way to get on with my life at the time was to stop thinking about it. But it still affects me.” While raping her, one of these men tortured her by shoving needles all over her body. She will maintain a panic fear of needles and therefore of the medical world, which will complicate her pregnancy follow-up in the hospital.

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After a shoot-out, she escapes in the company of her nephew after several days in custody. Together, they cross the border into Rwanda and meet a man who will change their lives. This man is a truck driver and hides them in his truck to help them flee. “This man saved us by hiding us in the truck's structure, under the goods. He stopped when he could to give us water and food, and so we could relieve ourselves in the forest. I think we spent four or five days in his truck. He came from North Africa and had a Muslim name, that's all I know about him. I don't know what has become of him, but I am always praying for him,” Désirée recalls with emotion.


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From refugee status to a master's degree in health innovation

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It is therefore hidden in this truck that they arrive in South Africa... 4,000 km from home. Alone, with no money or food, they don't speak English or Swahili. They are collected by a church. The pastor's wife accompanies Desirée to the hospital, where she finally sees a doctor for the first time, several weeks after being raped. “That's when I realized what had happened to me. During my flight, I was alive. There, I could finally start to heal. I started therapy that lasted five years. It allowed me to give value back to my life.”
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Her refugee status, obtained after a year of waiting, allows her to receive a scholarship to begin higher education in English and information technology. She feels that her life is starting up again: “This scholarship has given me back my smile and hope.” This hope for a better future will unfortunately not be shared by her nephew, who will fall into crime. “My nephew was angry and traumatized; I did not have the tools to help him, being in post-traumatic shock myself. He was convinced by the violence and we lost contact.”
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She continued her studies in South Africa until her master's degree in health innovation and married. She is gradually regaining her balance thanks to therapy and manages to communicate with her parents, whom she had not heard from since her abduction. A month later, her mother died. She won't have had time to see it again. Nevertheless, she will experience the joy of reuniting with her father, whom she succeeds in bringing to South Africa as a refugee. But misfortune continued and he too died some time after his arrival. “I was so happy to see him again. One day, I invited him to eat a Congolese dish. After the meal, we walked on the beach. It was there that he was paralyzed. He passed away a week later. It was a short reunion, but it was a wonderful time for both of us. I suffered a lot when he disappeared.”
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Although Désirée leads a relatively stable existence in South Africa, she is nonetheless a victim of xenophobic acts. These are numerous in this country, which welcomed 266,700 refugees and asylum seekers in 2020, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Faced with the resurgence of attacks against refugee communities, she is forced to move again to flee the violence.

Fleeing violence again, from England to Quebec

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It was then that a professional opportunity presented itself to her. She is being recruited for a job in the United Kingdom. The recruiter, who went to South Africa, promises him mountains and wonders — work visa, official accommodation, good salary — but there is a catch: you have to pay to be hired. The prospect of a better life is tempting. Desirée pays the man and gets a visa for her and her husband. Obviously, the British company is not aware of the malpractices of its employee. When Desirée arrives in England, she denounces the crooked recruiter. It then provokes the fury of man, who turns out to be a dangerous predator. Hard pressed because he has lost his livelihood, and especially his position of domination, he will not stop hunting her, harassing her and threatening her with death. Even though she changes her phone number and work, she knows that her life is in danger. The man will not stop.

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To escape him, she flees and settles with her husband in another town, several hundred kilometers away. This new start is an opportunity for her to go back to school. She submitted her application for a doctorate, and her university advised her to have an article published to improve her chances of admission. So here it is in Vancouver. The conference is going well, until she receives a call: the recruiter has found her again and intends to carry out his threat to kill her. He knows where she works, and probably where she lives. She is pregnant and her husband, on the move, will not be able to defend her if she returns. She can't face it. She knows she can call the police and confront him, but she is also a rape survivor and war survivor, and she suffers from post-traumatic stress. Even though her whole life is in England, she refuses to put her baby in danger. Fear wins. She therefore decided not to return and to seek asylum in Canada.

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He was advised to go to Montreal to get closer to the Congolese community. There, it is the shock of the Quebec winter that awaits him. She only took clothes with her for a week. Upon arrival, she hears about a woman who has frozen to death after spending a night on the street. Again, she finds herself alone, without knowing where to go. Its funds are dwindling. After a few weeks of living in motels and seeking help seeking asylum, she tries to find a place in a refugee shelter.


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An administrative labyrinth for those who don't have the “brown paper”

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Her situation is complicated: she does not have the “brown paper”, in other words the official document of the asylum seeker, given by the government. All the organizations repeat it to him: it is the key to everything: housing, food, social services... To benefit from official aid, you must have been identified by the official organizations and appear in their registers. Désirée did not enter Canadian territory as an asylum seeker, but as a tourist.
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A long journey lies ahead of her, as her anxiety increases as she sees her belly getting bigger every day. She is temporarily staying in a women's shelter. In addition to “brown paper,” refugee agencies ask for references from social workers, which Désirée does not have, because she does not have the... “brown paper.” She moves from shelter to shelter. After numerous interviews, she finally managed to be accepted into a refugee shelter. She would need a pregnancy follow-up, but again, you need this famous paper. The office of the NGO Médecins du Monde is the only place where she can see a doctor. She gets her first medical visit since coming to Canada. For the first time, she hears her baby's heart. She thinks of her husband, who would have liked so much to attend the birth, but who did not get a tourist visa to enter the country.
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Without “brown paper,” she can't give birth in the hospital either. Doctors of the World therefore directs her to a birth center where midwives accept patients, regardless of their status, after studying their background. It is a relief for her to finally be followed, especially by women, in a poorly medicalized environment, given her trauma.


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Living your pregnancy with the fear of losing your home

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The shelter provides him with food, travel tickets, and help him find an immigration lawyer. Once her asylum application is sent, she receives a “white paper”, i.e. the acknowledgement of receipt of her application, which allows her to be partially covered medically and to obtain a small allowance. “At that moment, I tell myself that I have a roof over my head, an allowance, a midwife. For now, it's fine,” explains Désirée. What he lacks, essentially, is the work permit, which is granted once the brown paper is received. She is therefore waiting for the judge's decision. In reality, it is always possible for the judge to refuse her refugee status. His lawyer explained to him that you can only be a refugee in one country, because all asylum applications are centralized by UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. However, she has already obtained asylum in South Africa. So it will be difficult.
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The difficulties do not end there. When she gives birth, Désirée will no longer be able to stay in her shelter reserved for single women. He will have to find an apartment... but without a salary, it will be an almost impossible mission. If you add up her benefit and the baby allowance, she will get $870 per month. Impossible to find an apartment in Montreal with this income. He will also have to find a daycare. We know the difficulties in getting a place, especially since many daycares only accept babies from a certain age. Not benefiting from maternity leave, Désirée will have to work as soon as possible. If she finally gets her work permit, she hopes to find a job that is related to her master's degree. But again, she would need Quebec experience to hope to be hired.
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“With each contraction, I worry and pray that I won't give birth too quickly, because that means I no longer have a place to live. The only positive thing is that my child will be Canadian. I didn't even know that when I got here! ”
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However, Désirée does not lose her smile and hope. The war survivor has shown her resilience. But she finds herself trapped in a system in which she does not trust: at every danger, she has fled, fearing men and authorities. If she does not find a safe haven in Canada for herself and her baby, she will continue to flee.

*For security reasons and at the request of the person met by La Converse, their first name has been changed.

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RESOURCES

If you are in a situation similar to Désirée's, here are some resources that could help you:

• How to apply for asylum from Canada
• Canadian Red Cross
• Regional Programme for the Reception and Integration of Asylum Seekers (PRAIDA)
• Le Pont - Reception center for asylum seekers
• AIEM - Welcome to immigrants from East Montreal
• Foyer du Monde - Refugee Shelter
• Promis - Assistance for immigrants and refugees
• YMCA residences - reception and accommodation service
• Social Center for Assistance to Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers (CSAI)
• The Refugee Center

To get health care:

• Médecins du Monde Migrants Clinic
• Refugee clinic
• List of birthing centers in Quebec