ISTANBUL, Turkey, November 15, 2002 — An Iranian Christian family stranded for more than three years in central Turkey learned a few days ago that they are scheduled to leave for permanent residency in Canada in ten days.
In a jubilant telephone call from Nevsehir, Turkey, Mahmoud Erfani told Compass that he was informed this morning by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Istanbul that he, his wife and three daughters are slated to fly to Toronto on November 25.
"The IOM office said they will fax us copies of our airplane tickets as soon as they are issued," Erfani said. An IOM official confirmed that a definite departure date of November 25 was set for the Erfanis.
"We are overflowing with joy, and everyone is crying," one of Erfani's daughters said. "It is a big miracle for us. Please thank everyone who has been praying for us."
| "We are overflowing with joy, and everyone is crying," one of Erfani's daughters said. "It is a big miracle for us. Please thank everyone who has been praying for us." |
According to IOM personnel, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Ankara will obtain specific permission from the Turkish government regarding instructions for the refugee family's travel overland from Nevsehir to Istanbul for their November 25 departure.
Since Erfani's wife suffers from advancing multiple sclerosis, the family hopes to arrange private transport by minibus from Nevsehir for the 12-hour road trip to the Istanbul airport. "Traveling by public bus is very difficult for my mother," noted one of the teenage daughters.
After the family fled to Turkey in July 1999, they were refused formal refugee status three times by the UNHCR. This past April, they were also denied immigration to Canada, leaving them liable to deportation by Turkish authorities back to Iran after their temporary residence permits expired.
Both former Muslims, Erfani and his wife became Christians at the time of their marriage. But under Iran's strict Islamic regime, Muslims who convert to Christianity can be executed for apostasy.
| Both former Muslims, Erfani and his wife became Christians at the time of their marriage. But under Iran's strict Islamic regime, Muslims who convert to Christianity can be executed for apostasy. |
In May, a member of the Canadian House of Commons protested the rejection of Erfani's application by the Canadian embassy in Ankara, declaring their case had become "somewhat of an international embarrassment" for Canada.
In early July and without explanation, Turkish officials granted the family visa extensions by order of the UNHCR. Three weeks later, they were summoned to Ankara for an appeal interview with Canadian immigration officials. Erfani was able to produce recent evidence of his family's harassment by an Iranian Muslim living in Nevsehir at the July 30 interview, together with details of ongoing government persecution of his relatives back in Mashhad.
In early September, the convert Christian family was called to Ankara once more for the medical examinations required for all prospective immigrants, and on October 2, the Canadian Embassy requested four photographs of each family member "to process your visas," Erfani was told.
Although he understood when he handed over the photographs on October 7 that his family was apparently accepted for immigration, Erfani said he still has received no written confirmation of their formal acceptance from Canadian authorities.
Erfani, 46, and his wife Atefeh converted from Islam to Christianity nearly 22 years ago in Mashhad, one of Shiite Iran's most fanatically religious cities. Since the Islamic revolution, one convert pastor from Mashhad was executed, both of the Protestant churches in the city were closed down, and several other converts there were jailed for apostasy.
A few months before the Erfanis fled across the border to Turkey, they had been evicted from their home on a former church compound and subjected to growing harassment by secret police and other government agents.
An Anglican church in Toronto has pledged full sponsorship for the Erfani family, who are baptized members of the Presbyterian-affiliated Evangelical Church of Iran.
Source: Barbara G. Baker, Compass
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