Warning: Readers may find details of this story disturbing
The scars on Eva Rose’s left wrist and forearm tell of part of her painful journey.
As a transgender, Syrian refugee who has been abandoned by her family, she has tried to take her own life. At times, this seemed to be her only path to inner peace.
As Rose tries to talk about her suicide attempt, tears well up in her face.
The emotion of the memory is too heavy to share. So much of her story is littered with suffering, abuse and abandonment.
When ISIL seized Rose’s eastern Syrian village near the Iraqi border in 2014, she said an extremist terrorist forced her to have sex. Only then was she told she would be safe.
“I was forced to do things against my will… or my life was put at risk,” she told CTV National News.
Asked what ISIS usually does with members of the LGBTQ2S + community, Rose ran a finger down her throat. “They cut off your head.”
The 23-year-old arrived in Canada as a refugee on June 6, after spending the last few years living as a transgender refugee in Turkey. Rose was ecstatic when the UN refugee agency told her she would move to Canada.
“When I found out I was coming to Canada, I knew that as an LGBTQ person, I would be able to live freely here.”
Although she remains grateful to the government and Canadians across the country, Rose says her vision of a free, open life has so far been shattered. When she arrived, she was sent to live in a hotel in the Toronto area with other refugees who she said abused her every day because of her sexual orientation.
During her first meal, two other refugees told her: “If we were at home in Iraq, people like Saddam Hussein would finish off all (you) people by beheading them. “Unfortunately, people like you are defending here in Canada,” she recalled.
Rose says that her deep-rooted cultural and religious affiliation with members of the LGBTQ2S + community means she will not find solace or a sense of community from other refugees, even those on her own.
Refugee advocate Mona Elshayal watches Rose retire, sitting in her hotel room all day.
“I’ve seen people treat her, point at her and laugh at her, like she’s a child being bullied at an adult playground. “Imagine the feeling, the fear of just leaving your hotel room,” says Elshayal.
The federal government has made repeated promises to vulnerable refugees coming to Canada from around the world. In August, when Canada closed its embassy in Kabul, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his government’s promise, this time to the people of Afghanistan, saying “commitment to women and girls, LGBTQ communities remains unwavering.”
However, Rose does not believe that the government has kept its promise to people like her when they finally arrive, saying that her stay at the refugee hotel makes her “feel like a criminal, but what is my crime?” I’m just LGBTQ, I haven’t done anything wrong. “
The refugee hotel where Rose is currently staying is run by an organization called Polycultural, which was set up by the federal government and pays taxpayers’ dollars to help care for and resettle refugees.
Elshayal says when the question of Rose’s safety at the hotel was brought to the attention of multicultural staff, “they just laughed and said if you wanted us to have security to surround her wherever she went, and I think they took it more as a joke than taking things seriously. “
CTV National News spoke with the CEO of Polycultural on the phone on Monday. He said the organization is now looking to move Rose to another hotel where there are no other refugees. The relocation will be a temporary solution as they work to find her a more permanent place to live.
In a statement to CTV National News from Canada on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), the department said in part: “The safety and security of refugees temporarily staying in hotels are paramount. As already mentioned, the IRCC is in constant contact with service providers to ensure that they meet the needs of refugees, from sharing information to adding resources. This includes daily updates to the IRCC on hotel activities. “
The IRCC says it is currently monitoring this specific situation with Polycultural.
For Rose, she says she just wants to live her life freely and embrace her new country and all she has to offer.
The following is a list of resources and hotlines dedicated to supporting people in crisis:
Hope for Wellness Hotline (English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut): 1-855-242-3310
Embrace Life Council Hotline: 1-800-265-3333
Trans Lifeline: 1-877-330-6366
Helpline for children: 1-800-668-6868
Add Comment