8 months in terminal limbo

Lacking papers, a family fleeing persecution can't be forced back to Iran, but now finds that there's nowhere to go

http://www.thestar.com/article/174713

An Iranian woman and her two children have been stranded in a Moscow airport for more than eight months while en route to seek asylum in Canada to be united with her brother, her only overseas relative.

Zahra Kamalfar's living nightmare is reminiscent of Tom Hanks' character in the 2004 movie, The Terminal, who ends up stuck in New York's Kennedy Airport when political upheaval in his homeland suddenly turns his passport into scrap paper.

The woman, in her mid-40s, daughter Ana, 17, and son Davood, 12, have been living in the transit hall of the Sheremetyevo International Airport since last May, says Kamalfar's Canadian lawyer, Negar Azmudeh.

Sympathetic airport staff supply them with airline food. They sleep on the floor in sleeping bags, use public washrooms to bathe, and cope with boredom as best they can. Since November, their hopes for leaving have rested on the slow-turning wheels of Canada's refugee sponsorship program.

They first got into this jam in May 2005, when Kamalfar, who had spent a year in prison for her participation in political activism, fled Iran while on a two-day pass to visit her family.

"They used forged Bulgarian passports, provided by a smuggler, to travel to Canada through Russia and Germany. The Germans spotted their false travel documents and the family was forced to make their refugee claims there," Azmudeh said from Vancouver, speaking on behalf of Kamalfar's brother Nader, a Canadian citizen living there. However German authorities rejected any claims because of the fraudulent documents and immediately sent them back to their last port of entry – Moscow.

At first, they were put under house arrest at a hotel near the Moscow airport. But when the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees turned down their claim as well, Russian officials took the family back to the airport, intending to return them to Iran.

"They have no status in Russia, but they (Russian authorities) can't deport them without proper identification and travel documents," Azmudeh explained. "They have been staying at the airport since May 2006. The mother has attempted suicide by slashing her wrist, while the daughter swallowed cleaning detergent."

As a result, the Russians pleaded with the UN agency for a second assessment – this time with positive results. They were granted refugee status in November and applied for government sponsorship in Canada. Several Canadians have offered to sponsor them privately.

But they are still waiting.

Alexey Lisenkov, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Ottawa, said Canadian officials and his colleagues in Moscow are looking into Kamalfar's case and will offer consular assistance. A spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada refused to comment, citing privacy concerns.

"This is a clear breach of all human rights principles," Minoo Homily said of the family's plight. Her group, the Toronto-based International Organization of Iranian Refugees, is gathering signatures on a petition supporting the family's bid to come to Canada.

"Having fled Iran and being an activist against the Iranian regime places her life in danger. (Kamalfar) has real reason to fear persecution for her legitimate and peaceful political activism, should she be returned to Iran. Given her brother is her only family member abroad, Canada must take them in," she said.

Azmudeh said Kamalfar and her husband were involved in massive democratic demonstrations in Iran in 1999, and arrested in July 2004 at a gathering commemorating the event.

Kamalfar was sentenced to jail and released in April a year later "on a two-day pass" to see her family, who arranged her escape through Turkey. She has not heard from her husband since, the lawyer said.

"I want to go Canada because I want go someplace that is good place, that is good place for the future (of) my child," Kamalfar told CBC News at the Moscow airport.

"Canada is number one in the world because person from Canada is very nice and they understand respect," added Ana.