Frozan Hassan Zai thought she would finally be safe after leaving an abusive marriage in the Netherlands with her two children, her second time fleeing a country.
She arrived in Canada, married a Canadian, had a child, started a business and has helped others to come to this country.
Eight years later, and now living in Paris, Ont., she faces deportation by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
“In this big world, there is no place we can call home,” Zai told CBC.
Zai’s husband tried to sponsor her and her children twice through the common-law spousal program, but was denied both times because the IRCC has deemed they’re in a marriage of convenience — meaning they wed solely with the intention of receiving citizenship or permanent status.
At a hearing scheduled for later today, Zai expects to receive a deportation order.
She first fled Afghanistan as a teen
Zai’s story begins at a grocery store in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan where she made the political mistake of not wearing a burqa — a full-body and face covering.
“I had only a scarf,” she said. “They started beating me almost to death.
“And that day, my mom said we have to leave because today you were almost killed.”
Zai said she was 13 when she left Afghanistan. She, her parents and her brother fled on foot with only a backpack to carry their belongings.
Eventually ending up in the Netherlands, at 16, Zai was forced to marry her cousin and became pregnant shortly afterward.
She named her first born Shokran Hassan Zai, who said growing up in Holland was full of ups and downs, but mostly downs.
My life is and my children’s life is in great danger if we get sent back to Holland or Afghanistan.– Frozan Hassan Zai
“I grew up with just my mom and she was a single mom. My dad was not around all that much for most of my life,” Shokran told CBC.
His mother said Shokran’s father was abusive toward her, and in and out of jail over the next 14 years of their marriage.
“I went to the police, I went to the women’s shelter, but they cannot protect you forever, or keep someone in prison forever,” she said.
“Leaving Holland was the only option at that time.”
When they arrived in the country, Zai’s youngest, Sobhan, was two years old and Shokran was 14, still at an age to spend the majority of his time in high school in Canada.
“You have to start from zero, right? New country, you don’t know the language all that well. It was challenging at first,” he said.
Shokran said he didn’t go to college because he was told he’d have to pay international fees.
“As far as I know, Canada is my home,” he said. “I tried to do my best to be here to get a good job, make good money.”
Now a finance manager at a car dealership in Hamilton, he said, “My mom is a business owner, I have a full-time job, my little sister’s a citizen of this country. Why exactly do you guys see the need of deporting me?”
‘We started as 2 friends … it turned into love’
Shokran’s mother met her future husband, Masood Meer, while he was working in an Afghani restaurant in Brampton.
She and her two children spent their first winter in Canada living in a basement apartment.
“I didn’t know if it was day or night because it was dark inside the basement and cold,” she said.
Because of Meer’s Afghani background, she figured she could ask him if he knew anyone who was renting. They exchanged phone numbers and apartment listings, and Meer eventually helped her set up viewings. But when that was done, Zai said, he kept calling.
“We started as two friends. He was very, very helpful. And then at some point, it turned into love,” said Zai.
“Oh, he’s an amazing guy,” said Shokran. “I love him to death.”
After living in Canada for a little over a year, Zai and Meer got married. About a year later, they had Rose, who is now seven years old.
But Zai said the IRCC doesn’t believe there’s any love there has declared their relationship a marriage of convenience, meaning obtaining citizenship or permanent residency is the sole purpose of their union.
Each case assessed based on Canadian law: MP
CBC reached out over a number of days to the federal government and multiple MPs who might be involved in Zai’s case.
The office of Immigration Minister Marc Miller said they couldn’t provide a response by publication time.
In Guelph, where Frozan spends a lot of time working and volunteering with St. Andrew’s church, MP Lloyd Longfield’s office said in an email that “every case is assessed on its merits and reviewed in accordance with Canada’s laws.”
Brantford–Brant MP Larry Brock, whose riding includes Zai’s town of Paris, did not respond to requests for comment.
Lawyer gives reasons IRCC rules false marriage
Binod Rajgandha, a Waterloo-based immigration lawyer, said there are a number of reasons the IRCC might conclude a marriage was one of convenience.
There could be a massive age gap between the couple or perhaps they were married too soon after meeting each other. But for Zai and Meer, they’re both 40 and they dated before marriage.
A big reason they might find that a marriage is false, however, is due to “minimal knowledge of the partner’s life,” said Rajgandha.
“For example, during an interview or during a discussion, if IRCC identified that they hardly know each other’s background, such as the personal history, the interest or the family details,” said Rajgandha, it might be ruled as a marriage of convenience.
Zai said her husband tried to sponsor her and her children twice through the common-law spousal program, but was denied both times for this reason.
Of one of the denials, Zai said her “son was enrolled in a college, he was not even started yet, and because [her husband] didn’t know the name of the college, now they are thinking that marriage is not real.”
Rajgandha said a marriage of convenience can’t be the only reason to issue a deportation order.
“She might have lost their immigration status,” he said.
Frozan said her refugee status was recently rescinded.
“If that is the case, when IRCC will send a refusal letter, they put in a removal order as well,” said Rajgandha.
He said the removal order is the last step before deportation.
“You still have some time to go and defend your case, which she’s doing now,” he said.
Frozan’s final resource was to appeal on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which is still being reviewed.
Rajgandha said this is where she can state her case for why she shouldn’t be sent to another country.
In Zai’s case, she is unsure whether there may be plans to deport her and her children to the Netherlands, or if she’d be sent directly to Afghanistan.
Zai said if she’s sent to the Netherlands, because of the history there with her ex-husband and his family, she isn’t safe. She said that because of her divorce and the fact she’s fled Afghanistan already, they won’t be safe there either.
“My life is and my children’s life is in great danger if we get sent back to Holland or Afghanistan,” she said.
‘It’s been very emotional’
Since settling in Paris, Zai has spent some time helping others come to Canada. Most recently, with the help of the Mission and Outreach Committee at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Guelph, she managed to secure a place for her brother and his family in the church’s 2024 refugee quota.
Richard McRonald, chair of the committee, said he met Frozan while she was advocating for her brother’s refugee status.
“It’s been very emotional. We’ve tried everything we could think of to help and support her because we believe very strongly that she and her family need to stay together here in Canada,” said McRonald.
“They work, they pay taxes, they volunteer, they get involved,” he said. “They’re the kind of people that we need here.”
If Zai and her family do receive a deportation order today, delays and time-consuming bureaucracy might mean that by the time her brother arrives in Canada, Zai will have already left.
“Why would we split the family up and send people away that we know are already contributing to our Canadian society?” said McRonald.