Join the Chain
Fast to Bring Home Covid-Threatened Family: Rosena (12), Amaika (8), and their fragile father Sebastien
(69)
Fast for a day
in June for Justice for this Covid-Threatened Family
Email tasc@web.ca with your preferred date(s). See the list of dates below
for open dates.
BACKGROUND
On April 8,
2020, Sebastien De Marre, a Canadian citizen vulnerable to COVID-19, was
offered a flight home from Haiti. But he refused to board because his two
Haitian-born daughters (Rosena Luz Saint Louis, aged 12, and Amaika Clairazur Celestin, aged 8) were denied permission to come with him.
He could not abandon these young girls in a country where they have no one to
care for them, and so now all of their health is at risk.
Despite almost
two months of desperate pleas to reunite the family, intensive lobbying, and
the extensive submission of application materials to allow these two girls and
their adoptive father to come back to Canada from Haiti, the federal
government is continuing to place all three lives at risk by failing to do the
right thing.
Beginning June
1, we are starting a chain fast to put further pressure on Ottawa to
immediately issue Temporary Resident Permits so that Rosena and Amaika (both of
them rescued as babies and raised to health over the past decade by Sebastien
and his spouse, Marie Paule) can get on a plane and come back to the relative
safety of their parents’ BC home until the crisis is over.
(Further
background available at https://www.change.org/p/urgent-bring-at-risk-father-and-young-daughters-8-and-12-home-to-canada)
You can pick a
day to fast and help advocate for this humanitarian solution.
How to Participate in the Chain Fast
Pick a day (or a series
of days) to fast throughout the month of June and email your name and town
to tasc@web.ca
A list of open dates and names is below. More than one person can fast on the
same date.
Fast according to your
preferred tradition (a full 24 hours, liquids only, sun up to sun down).
The fast is open to
anyone (you can join even if you are not living in the land known as Canada)
On the day
they fast we encourage you to:
a. Take a
selfie with a simple message (ie, #TwoTRPs, Save Sebastien, Rosena, and Amaika,
Fasting for Justice: Bring Rosena, Amaika, and Sebastien Home, etc) and share
that image via social media, explaining why you are fasting on that day
b. Write
an email to Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino (IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca,
Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca and cc pm@pm.gc.ca, Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca, ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca, Soraya.MartinezFerrada@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca to explain why you are fasting and
reinforce the demand that Temporary Resident Permits for Rosena and Amaika be
issue so they can come home with their father, Sebastien. You can also
call Mendicino’s office at 613-992-6361 and 416-781-5583) (Sample email and phone message at bottom)
c. Write a letter
to a local newspaper about why you are fasting, and why the government needs to
act quickly to save three lives.
d. If you have the
time, make a sign and vigil for an hour or two in front of where you live
(respecting social distancing), and take a selfie or video of what you are
doing.
Sign
up for a day!
June 1, Hassan Almrei, Toronto, ON; Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
June 2, Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI, Murray Lumley, Toronto
June 3, June Savard, Toronto, ON
June 4, Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC
June 5, Dr. Leslie Solomonian, Toronto, ON
June 6, Caterina Lindman, Waterloo, ON; Jozef Konyari, Toronto, ON
June
7, Sylvia Smith, Ottawa, ON
June
8, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
June
9, Murray Lumley, Toronto
June
10, Ed Babb, Burlington, ON
June
11, Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC
June
12, Luke Stocking, Toronto, ON
June
13, Lyn Adamson, Toronto, ON
June
14, Pam Macdonald, Smiths Falls, ON
June 15, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
June 15, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
June
16, Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
June 17
June 17
June
18,Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC
June 19
June 19
June
20, Jozef Konyari, Toronto, ON
June
21
June
22, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
June
23, Murray Lumley, Toronto
June
24
June
25, Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC
June
26
June
27
June
28
June
29, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
June
30, Murray Lumley, Toronto
Subject Line: Please Issue Temporary Resident Permits to Rosena Luz Saint Louis, aged 12, and Amaika Clairazur Celestin, aged 8
To: IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca
Cc: Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca, Soraya.MartinezFerrada@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca
Dear Minister Mendicino,
I am writing to demand that you exercise your power under Section 25.1 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Humanitarian and compassionate considerations) to issue Temporary Resident Permits to Rosena Luz Saint Louis, aged 12, and Amaika Clairazur Celestin, aged 8, of Jacmel, Haiti, so they can accompany their fragile father Sebastien De Marre home to Canada and be reunited with their mother, Marie-Paule.
As you likely know from the news, the situation in Haiti – the country in the Americas least able to handle the pandemic – is deteriorating rapidly. All family members are at grave risk.
Your office has issued similar permits to other Canadian parents, allowing them to bring adopted Haitian kids to Canada. The children’s application for permits – with all the necessary supporting documents that show what a loving, strong family they are – was sent to your office April 24, 2020. The family has been trying to resolve this matter since the beginning of April.
There is nothing complicated in this request. You can issue a permit immediately. Failure to do so will have tragic consequences. Should Sebastien succumb to COVID-19, the girls will be left abandoned in a country where they are ripe for sexual exploitation. This is unacceptable and easily preventable.
(Feel free to add in a personal statement at the end—ie, “As a parent, I cannot imagine the impossible choice before Sebastien right now” or “People’s lives should not be at risk because of bureaucratic paperwork issues”, etc.
Your Name
Address
Sample phone message (leave one if you get the answering machine)
Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm calling from TOWN, PROVINCE. I’m calling to support Sebastien De Marre and his two daughters, Rosena and Amaika. The girls need Temporary Resident Permits immediately to escape Haiti, where the COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly and threatening all of them. Please issue the permits today so they can get on a plane with their dad and be reunited with their mom in Canada. It's the right thing to do. Thank you."
