An Eritrean refugee and her daughter, who have suffered hardship and displacement, have been denied asylum in Canada. Nest is dismayed by the decision and has asked the Visa Officer to reconsider.

Nest, the Canadian Lutheran World Relief and a Saskatoon relative sponsored Sahar* and her daughter (pictured here) five years ago.

Sahar, a UN Convention Refugee, has survived years of gender-based violence and abuse. In June 2014, she and her then two-year-old daughter were jailed for six months in Eritrea’s Barentu Prima prison. No charges were ever laid.

In October 2023, Sahar was interviewed by a Canadian Visa Officer based in Nairobi to assess her request for asylum in Canada.

Ten months later, he informed Sahar that her application was denied. In his letter to Sahar, the Visa Officer said he rejected her asylum request because he had concerns about her “refugee claim and narrative, specifically surrounding your claims of being imprisoned with your daughter and your escape story.”

Nest wrote the Visa Officer in September, urging him to reconsider his decision. “We sincerely believe Sahar deserves the full protection and support of Canada’s asylum program,” Nest said in the four-page letter.

Nest cited reports by the U.S State Department and international human rights organizations that document instances of women and children being imprisoned in Eritrea, a fact the Visa Officer found difficult to believe.

Nest also pointed out that Sahar is a convention refugee who has suffered gender-related persecution throughout her adult life, including beatings, threats of rape, and verbal and emotional abuse.

Canada views “gender-related violence” as a valid basis for refugee protection, but the Visa Officer did not ask Sahar any questions about the abuse that forced her to flee Eritrea and prevents her from returning home.

Nest called this “a serious oversight” and urged the Visa Officer to grant Sahar and her daughter refugee asylum in Canada.

We await a decision.

* Sahar is a pseudonym