Today's Good News

"Canada is so great because there is no racism here. It doesn't matter what our culture is or the colour of your skin, people are nice."
Mercedesz Buzas, 11, Hungarian Roma refugee claimant

Tamara Altéresco/Radio-Canada

In years past Hungary produced numerous asylum-seekers to Canada. The vast bulk of those asylum seekers were Roma. An ethnic-social class of people that has a sad heritage of oppression throughout Europe. Calumny, some of it well earned, but most of it soul-destroyingly unearned has followed the Roma, also called Gypsies, for hundreds of years as they attempted to settle in various parts of Europe only to find themselves horrendously discriminated against.

There is the romantic vision of the wandering Gypsies with their dark flashing good looks, bravura behaviour, dancing, singing, (sinister underlay of illicit goings-on) and colourful Gypsy caravans. And there is the urban reality of grinding poverty with institutionalized oppression, poor education, rental refusals, unemployment and governments deliberately catering to the public view of Roma as parasites. Rather than continue to live where they are obviously and by design kept in poverty, they choose, if they can, to migrate.

Canadian Immigration authorities felt they could solve what they saw as a problem of too many Hungarians attempting to enter Canada for haven as Roma. So Hungary was placed on the list of "safe countries" under the government's refugee reform in 2013. Since the creation of the list there has been a dramatic drop in asylum claims. But the reality of the situation is that intimidation and violence continue against Roma by right-wing extremists in Europe, and little sympathy is given them for their plight.

Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board received 104 claims from Hungary between January and June of 2013, as compared with 1,389 claims during the same period the year before. The family of Mercedesz Buzas, her mother Renata, father Tibor, and siblings Lili 9, and Tibor 13 received good news of a reprieve against their immediate removal back to Hungary. They fought their deportation after having lived in Quebec for three years.

Renata Buzas, facing camera, hugs a supporter outside the Immigration Canada offices in Montreal on Wednesday.  John Kenney, Postmedia News

Their application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds was brought to the attention of Immigration Minister Chris Alexander. It was filed after their refugee claim had been refused. Now, their case should be reviewed on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, and it should be assured that this family will have the refusal of their refugee claim overturned.