Call/Email: New Immigration Minister Must Reunite 13-Year-old Iranian Girl with her Calgary Mother

On Sunday, October 31 and Monday, November 1 (or whenever you get this), please email/call to demand an end to the 28-month separation of 13-year-old Iranian girl Amitis Shojaie from her Calgary mother. Canada must issue an Early Admission Temporary Resident Permit NOW! Sample Emails and calls below!
SAMPLE EMAIL
Subject: Reunite Long-Separated 13-Year-old Iranian Girl Amitis Shojaei with her Calgary Mother
To: IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca, Minister@cic.gc.ca
CC: Marc.Garneau@parl.gc.ca, Soraya.MartinezFerrada@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, George.Chahal@parl.gc.ca, michelle.rempel@parl.gc.ca, Ron.Liepert@parl.gc.ca, Greg.McLean@parl.gc.ca, Len.Webber@parl.gc.ca, Bob.Benzen@parl.gc.ca, Stephanie.Kusie@parl.gc.ca, Pat.Kelly@parl.gc.ca, Tom.Kmiec@parl.gc.ca, Majid.Jowhari@parl.gc.ca, ali.ehsassi@parl.gc.ca, Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca, JasrajSingh.Hallan@parl.gc.ca, peter.schiefke@parl.gc.ca
Dear Minister Fraser,
Welcome to your new position as Minister. I am writing about some unresolved business left over from your predecessor. Specifically, I write to ask that you immediately issue an Early Admission Temporary Residence Permit (TRP) to allow 13-year-old Iranian girl Amitis Shojaei to reunite with her mother in Calgary after a 28-month separation caused by unacceptable delays in permanent residency processing.
Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister marked the International Day of the Girl by saying “we celebrate the power and potential of girls in Canada and around the world, and recommit ourselves to building a world where they can all feel safe and empowered.” But Amitis cannot feel safe or empowered in a country where the United Nations says “women and girls continue to be treated as second class citizens”, where covid is running rampant, and where daily living conditions are harsh, including a lack of electricity and air conditioning in an area of the country where daytime temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius.
The UN also says “one of the most concerning issues in Iran today when it comes to the rights of women and girls is the issue of child marriage.” As the UN has pointed out, there is great concern that "the legal age for a girl to marry in the Islamic Republic of Iran is 13 years, with even younger girls allowed to marry with paternal and judicial consent. This is inconsistent with the State’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, where the Committee on the Rights of the Child has strongly recommended an increase in the minimum age of marriage to 18, in law and in practice, for girls and boys. As noted above, Amitis has just turned 13 and is now, and during the difficult teenage years, at higher risk than ever before.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Canada is a signatory, is the leading international human rights instrument on children’s rights. Canada’s own immigration legislation specifically provides that it "complies with international human rights instruments to which Canada is signatory,” thus codifying the best interests of children into its own legislative scheme. Article 10 of the Convention states: “applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner.”
With over two years lost and the prospect of another 3.5 more years of separation, the rights violation here is clear. It is in the best interests of Amitis to immediately reunite her with her mother. There is simply no reasonable excuse for why this cannot happen immediately.
On October 5, 2020, your predecessor tweeted: "Our government strongly believes in the importance of keeping families together—particularly during difficult times. Now, more than ever, family reunification is an important component of Canada’s immigration system.”
I look forward to seeing positive action on this case to end this separation and the issuance of similar permits to the many suffering families going through a similar nightmare.
NAME, CITY
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SAMPLE PHONE MESSAGE
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser’s office (leave a message if you can): 613-992-6022 (you may get the name of Sean's Assistant, Lindsay, so please leave a polite message with her to pass along), or 902-867-2919.
Sample phone message (please leave one if you get the answering machine—PLEASE only leave respectful messages. If you want to ensure you are pronouncing her name properly, it is "Ahmi-tiss Show-ja-wee"
Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm calling from TOWN, PROVINCE. Congratulations on your new position. I’m calling to ask that as one of your first orders of business, you issue an Early Admission Temporary Residence Permit to a 13-year-old Iranian girl, Amitis Shojaei, who has been separated from her Calgary mother for 28 months. Both mother and daughter are suffering greatly from this separation. There's no excuse not to allow Amitis to come to Calgary while her permanent residency is finalized. In fact, your party ran on a platform promising earlier family reunification. The application for Amitis is with the ministry. Please cut the red tape and reunite this girl with her mother immediately. Thank you."
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Letter to government of Canada
October 16, 2021
I am a 13-years-old girl who has been separated from my mother for almost two and a half years. Missing my mother is only one of my worries. When I see mothers holding their children’s hands, walking happily, I miss my mom more than ever.
Every night I sleep on a pillow soaked with tears and praying to God. Harder than that, every day, I open my eyes with the anticipation of the good news that would mean that separation and sorrow is finally over, that I can finally hug my mother, and that entering Canada and embracing my mother is not an imagination any longer.
However, alas, days are passing without any positive news. Again, night falls and I repeat the same routine and daydreaming.
I wish that was the only problem. A sickness has developed in me as the result of this separation which is causing me depression to a point that sometimes I choke from sorrow. Physicians cannot help. They can not fix the agony that is resulting from this long separation.
Tolerating these torments for a 13-year-old girl is not fair. The anticipation of all the activities I can do with my mother, the gaps in my soul, and certain issues and difficulties related to my age and gender can only be understood by my mother, since she is the only family that I have in this world.
I beg you help me reunite with my mother; I miss her hugs.
Amitis
BACKGROUND
Friends,
Amitis Shojaei is a 13-year-old girl who has been separated from her Calgary-based mother, Fatemeh, for 28 months, and it could be another 39 months before her permanent residence (PR) application to come to Canada is processed. This is unacceptable. We are calling for the immediate issuance of an Early Admission Temporary Residence Permit (TRP) to allow Amitis to come to Calgary now while her PR application is completed. Leaving her in Iran – where conditions are increasingly desperate and she is also at extreme risk given one of the world’s highest mortality rates of Covid-19 – is reckless and negligent.
Last night, Amitis wrote an open letter to the Canadian Government (full text below), in which she pleaded, "Every night I sleep on a pillow soaked with tears and praying to God. Harder than that, every day, I open my eyes with the anticipation of the good news that would mean that separation and sorrow is finally over, that I can finally hug my mother, and that entering Canada and embracing my mother is not an imagination any longer. A sickness has developed in me as the result of this separation which is causing me depression to a point that sometimes I choke from sorrow."
The 28-month break in an incredibly strong mother-daughter bond has produced devastating results. Fatemeh, who for many understandable reasons is not sharing publicly why she had to come to Canada, suffers from severe depression due to the separation, as does Amitis, who suffers from lack of sleep, disinterest in play, and poor academic results. A November, 2019 psychiatric assessment that has been shared with Canadian officials indicates this young girl suffers greatly from anxiety and depression because of the separation from her mother, and that while treatment is recommended, “it is highly recommended to change the conditions and make it possible for her to enjoy physical and emotional presence of her mother.”
In addition to the pain of being separated from her mother and experiencing daily what it means to be a second class citizen as a girl, the conditions in Amitis’ community (where she survives with her aunt) are severe. They include a lack of electricity (and no air conditioning when daytime temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius), food and medicine shortages, and strict water rationing. Amitis is also at greater risk of contracting covid-19 given the regime’s decision not to impose strict public health measures, arguing that the economy must remain open to counteract the devastating impact of ongoing economic sanctions against the country.
PLEASE Take Action as soon as you receive this message, and let's reunite Amitis with her mom. Public pressure has been very important in opening the door to other families being reunited. Let's do the same here.
Thank you.
Matthew Behrens
Rural Refugee Rights Network