Hungary Strike
Why Canada closed its doors to Hungarian Roma refugees
BY Noreen Farooqui
Photography by Reuters
For generations, Canada has symbolized a new beginning for immigrants. But this is no longer the case for Gypsies—or Roma, as they prefer to be known—because of the way the Immigration and Refugee Board has chosen to judge their cases.
Roma face discrimination across Europe, the most deadly of which is found in eastern Europe, where they are routinely tortured and killed. Although Roma have lived in Canada for more than a century, it was only in the 1990s, when they began identifying themselves by ethnicity rather than nationality, that they started having trouble emigrating, particularly from Hungary.
Hajnalka Hamori, 24, came to Canada in 2000, deciding to flee Hungary when skinheads threatened to harm her unborn child. “When I leave, the neighbourhood said they going to kick the baby out of me,” she says. Her battle for asylum in Canada began as soon as she stepped off the plane. “The first time when I came to the airport, they were treating us like a dog,” says Hamori, referring to her reception by immigration officers. “Those were my first few hours. My God, it was very bad.”
Diplomatic relations between the Hungarian and Canadian governments may be one reason for the maltreatment of Hungarian Roma. In order for Hungary to join the European Union, it had to be seen to put an end to the ongoing persecution of Roma. In the fall of 1998, the Canadian government stepped in to help Hungary prove it was doing just that.
Two Hungarian Roma refugee cases served as a test, using the statements of a six-member panel to judge all subsequent cases. Four members of the panel were on the Hungarian government’s payroll, according to Martin Mark, a refugee sponsorship coordinator in Toronto who works with Hungarian Roma. They testified that Roma were not subject to persecution, insisting the government was creating programs to smooth their integration into Hungarian society.
As a result of the panel’s claims, Canada began accepting fewer Hungarian Roma as refugees. Before the test case, the rate of acceptance for Hungarian Roma was 95 percent. Today, only a handful of Hungarian Roma obtain refugee status.
In addition, many Hungarian Roma who were granted entry to Canada as refugees, and who now live here without status with their Canadian-born children, are being sent back to Hungary. When they return, they are subject to worse treatment than before they escaped because they are considered traitors and are often turned down for social assistance, Mark says.
Hungarian Roma who live in Canada without legal status live in fear they will be sent back to Hungary. “Some people do not allow their children to go to school. They stay at home. They are in hiding because their paperwork has expired or will soon expire,” says Mark.
But others, such as Hamori, refuse to remain quiet and intend to fight to remain in Canada. “You know, [the Immigration and Refugee Board] don’t believe you. They say the Roma people get enough protection in Hungary, but that’s not true. Now I’m appealing on humanitarian rights.”
