two months, 20,000 km run of a lifetime from Africa – Winnipeg Free Press

Two months after embarking on a perilous odyssey to escape persecution in Africa, Annur felt safe crossing the Canada-US border into Manitoba on a chilly December day.

The 28-year-old said he decided to risk his life on the notorious migrant route to reach Canada because his political allegiance put him in danger of being jailed or killed in his native Chad.

Annur, who declined to give his last name, said: “Now I am afraid to live there because there is no security.” Free press Wednesday through an interpreter. “I feel good about being here.”

The asylum seeker has traveled 20,000 kilometers – by plane, boat, car and foot – before arriving in Winnipeg, often paying thousands to people smugglers.

Some migrants are kidnapped, blackmailed or killed along the way. Annur burst into tears when discussing the survivors.

At one point, he said, he was held at gunpoint by soldiers in Mexico.

“I said I have to go on because everywhere I can go is not safe except Canada,” he said in French, one of Chad's official languages. “People coming to the border suffer a lot on the way.”

Manitoba RCMP officers, who patrol nearly 500 kilometers of the international border, have recently noticed an increase in Chadian nationals trying to cross the border illegally to seek refugee status in Canada.

On December 9, four men from Chad were found after traveling to Emerson, about 100 kilometers south of Winnipeg. One of them was seriously injured due to bad weather and was taken to the hospital.

“People coming to the border suffer on the way”– Annur

The RCMP's Integrated Border Enforcement Team located seven men from Chad on January 27 when officers stopped a rental car driven by an alleged Calgary-based people smuggler.

The men were picked up after entering Emerson by rail.

49-year-old driver Saleh Badawi Yusuf was charged with human smuggling.

Court records show he was charged with assault, assault by strangulation and wrongful imprisonment in Calgary for the June 2023 incident. The trial is due to begin in July.

Canadian and US authorities have reported an increase in illegal crossings since the COVID-19 pandemic eased. People often flee from conflict, persecution, or economic hardship. Some have small children with them.

Some will be saved in time.

“Our primary focus is to save lives, it's the safety and security of people,” said Cpl. James Buhler is a Border Patrol agent.

In January 2022, a family of four from India froze to death in a field east of Emerson during an overnight blizzard while trying to travel to the United States.

RCMP officers arrest people every week, but some make it through without detection, Buehler said.

Migrants who traveled from South America or paid smugglers up to US$30,000 were common, he said.

Some crossings are suspected of being linked to organized crime.

Those arrested will be cleared by the RCMP. If they are not wanted for a crime, they are turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency for immigration processing, Buhler said.

Under the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, people who enter between ports of entry must be returned to the US to seek asylum if found within 14 days. Limited exceptions allow applicants to remain in Canada.

In October, Annur left N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, where he worked as a laboratory technician. Since the assassination of long-time president Idriss Deby in 2021, the country has been in turmoil.

“It's quiet, it's quiet… The most important thing is safety. I can go anywhere without anyone bothering me.”– Annur

Annur said he has been an organizer of the opposition party since being targeted by the ruling junta that seized power in the central north African country.

In 2022, security forces opened fire on people demonstrating against the military regime, killing and injuring hundreds, according to rights groups.

Political opponents were arrested and opposition parties stopped working.

Annur traveled by air to Turkey, Colombia and Nicaragua before the perilous journey to the Mexico-US border. He spent time in New York before moving on to Arizona and going to Minnesota.

After being dropped off near the Canadian border, Annour and six other men drove through a wooded area to southeastern Manitoba on December 14. He didn't know where they were.

Dressed in winter clothes, they would wade through the stream and wade through the snow.

“It was very cold,” he said.

Annur, who said he paid US$1,000 to the smuggler, and the others walked for about three hours before he was picked up. In Winnipeg, a taxi driver suggested she seek shelter at the Salvation Army's Center of Hope at 180 Henry Ave.

“It's quiet, quiet,” he said of Winnipeg. “The most important thing is safety. I can go anywhere without anyone harassing me.''

Winnipeg's emergency shelters have seen a sharp increase in refugee claims since the fall.

The Hope Center accommodated approximately 40 people in October. According to executive director Mark Stewart, the number has tripled to 120, including families with children.

Some of them crossed the border dangerously on foot.

Stewart doesn't know what caused the increase. He said no one would be turned away, despite increased pressure on shelters.

“People who come here don't want to leave the system… They want to work. They want to have a safe, clean home.”– Mark Stewart

Salvation Army officials have been negotiating with the provincial government to add beds. The organization is waiting to see how much Manitoba will receive after the federal government last month announced more than $360 million in funding to help provinces and cities cope with rising refugee numbers.

Stewart urged Manitobans to be empathetic and consider the challenges the candidates face in their home countries.

“People who come here don't want to give up on the system,” he said. “They want to work. They want to have a safe, clean home.

“They want to make a better life for themselves. You think we need these people here.”

Stewart said shelters need more government support.

The RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and local officials have urged asylum seekers not to transit between ports of entry. The weather and terrain can be unforgiving and it's easy to get lost.

“You're really putting your life on the line,” Buehler said.

— With files from Dean Pritchard

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Chris Kitching
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As a general reporter, Chris covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.

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