Bruce Stotesbury, The Province /
Handcuffed female migrants are brought to immigration hearings
in Esquimalt
yesterday.
| ESQUIMALT --
Handcuffed, tagged with numbers, and under the eye of armed police
and immigration guards, 44 Chinese youngsters -- some as young as
just 11 --Êshuffled into Canadian hearing rooms yesterday to make
refugee claims.
Most of the kids -- sent here unaccompanied to make better lives
for their relatives -- will be the first people from a second
boatload of 131 illegals to be freed while they await a decision on
their claims.
But in one emotional and fiery hearing, Immigration Canada also
sought to detain five of the young people, including a girl, whom
authorities have marked as part of the smuggling organization.
"Children hold a very special place in Canadian society. Children
are not routinely kept in detention in handcuffs in our society,"
lawyer David Aujla angrily told a hearing for the girl and four
boys.
"This is not how Canadian children would or should be treated."
The problem of the unaccompanied young people has taxed the
province, which announced yesterday plans to seek financial help
from Ottawa to shore up already-strained Mandarin-speaking
resources.
Thirty-nine of the 44 will be sent to Vancouver group homes while
their claims are being considered, as will 10 more 18-year-olds
covered under B.C.'s age of consent.
The hearing for the five children still detained provided a rare
glimpse into both the investigation and the lives of the migrants
themselves.
An immigration lawyer said one 17-year-old boy was described by
others stuffed in the hold of the decrepit boat as constantly
violent -- apparently even South Korean crew said they were scared
of him.
Another boy told investigators he planned to go the United
States. Yet another said he had relatives on the first boat of 123
migrants that landed in B.C. July 20.
The 17-year-old girl -- who had been weeping loudly earlier at
the compound where the migrants are held --Êwiped tears from her
eyes as Aujla described what he said was the cruel behaviour of her
keepers.
She is one of the 18 so-called "enforcers" whom authorities
forced to wear red coveralls. The rest of the migrants wear olive.
Aujla said the girl wet herself because of a miscommunication and
was punished by being taken to a cell in a local RCMP detachment.
"She was totally broken down," he said. "She can't understand why
she's been isolated and segregated."
Lawyers for all the children said their clients -- who have been
given teddy bears and games -- were terrified by the handcuffs
police said were needed to preserve security.
"What strikes me the most about all of them so far is how
victimized they are," said lawyer Vaughan Barrett.
"They left horrific conditions behind, and if they return they'll
face even more horrible conditions.
"All of them were told they were going to be greeted warmly, that
this was going to be a much better place to be and that they would
be warmly embraced by the Canadian community. Needless to say,
they're shattered by what's happened."
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