Deportation
on hold while lawyer appeals today's deadline
HALIFAX (CP) - Filipino sailor Esmeraldo Esteban stayed
away from Canada Day celebrations even though his goal in life is
to become a Canadian citizen.
"I am going to be working all day," he said in an
interview. "I don't need a holiday. In my own situation I
don't want to see a lot of people walking with their children
when I am so far from my children."
Esteban is one of four Filipino sailors from the container ship
Maersk Dubai who are now making a last-minute appeal to the
federal government to be allowed to stay in Canada.
Esteban spends most of his waking hours at work. The 43-year-old
former sailor, who along with three other Filipinos left the
Maersk Dubai in Halifax in May 1996 and told police that three
Romanian stowaways had been forced off the ship at sea, is
holding down three jobs to support
his wife and three children in the Philippines.
He washes dishes at a restaurant during the day, works at a hotel
during the evening and occasionally hauls lobster crates on the
Halifax waterfront.
The federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration has ordered
that Esteban and his three countrymen -- Rodolfo Miguel, Ariel
Broas and Juanito Ilagan leave Canada on Thursday.
But that order will not be
enforced while their lawyer, Lee Cohen, makes a final appeal to
the department to allow the men to stay on compassionate and
humanitarian grounds.
Esteban insists that his family would be in danger if he returns
to the Philippines. He said that when he testified at an
extradition hearing for seven Taiwanese officers charged with
murdering the stowaways, his family was harassed and intimidated
by men who urged his wife to stop him from giving evidence.
He said he believes he would get the same treatment in his
homeland "There is no way I could go to live in the
Philippines," he told the Globe and Mail. "If I go home
I will not be able to see my family. That would put them in
danger. I'm pretty sure there would be retaliation. Nobody here
can know what will happen if I go back, but I'm a Filipino and I
know what will happen."
Late last year, the federal Immigration and Refugee Board
rejected the four men's applications to be admitted to Canada as
refugees. The board accepted that their families had been
harassed, but said it could not determine who was harassing them
and it could not find that the men had a reasonable fear of
persecution due to their political or religious beliefs.
The Taiwanese sailors' extradition hearing ended when a judge of
the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled that although crimes
appeared to have been committed, the court could not rule on
Romania's request to extradite the sailors because the incidents
were alleged to have happened in international waters.
Since they testified, the Filipinos have received widespread
support for their application to stay in Canada.
Esteban says he does not understand why the federal government
doesn't want to accept them.
"I read in the newspapers that your government accepted
criminals to come here. We are working. We are not
criminals."
He is hoping that Lucienne Robillard, federal Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration, will intervene to allow the men to
stay in Canada and sponsor their families to come here.
"My family needs me," Esteban said. "Maybe I can't
see them, but I can at least support them. I miss them very much.
My children are at a young age and they need a father."
The final review of the Filipinos' case will be conducted by a
senior official in the Halifax office of the Department of
Citizenship and Immigration, but Robillard could intervene.
Some supporters of the Filipinos planned to stage a 24-hour
prayer vigil with an ecumenical church service at the Historic
Properties on the Halifax waterfront yesterday, with the purpose
of directing public attention to the plight of the sailors.
Heather Cook, one of the organizers of the service, said the men
are determined not to leave Canada.
The Filipinos
are awaiting the results of our final appeal to the Immigration
minister. As it is considered, they are ordered to leave Canada
by July 2. We are trying desperately to generate mail to the
minister and have her show some compassion. (so far....none)
The Savatage CD is a wonderful composition. I think two of the
Filipinos have heard the CD. They are very edgy with the July 2
order and their contacts with our society are very emotional.
The latest news is we are considering sanctuary (in one or two of
our churches) as a last resort.
