ADVERTISEMENT
Ghanaian asylum seeker who lost fingers to frostbite wins case to stay in Canada
Mohammed, 24, said even though he now has to cope without any fingers, he is determined to make a life in Winnipeg.
Seidu Mohammed
Recommended articles
"I'm so happy. I don't know what to say. Now I'm home, I'm finally home now," said Seidu Mohammed, who learned Wednesday night that the Immigration and Refugee Board had accepted his claim.
His immigration lawyer, Bashir Khan, indicated that Mohammed cried with joy when he heard the news.
"Oh, he was in tears, he was in tears, he really was. He is overjoyed, ecstatic. I mean it's a life-altering moment for this young man."
ADVERTISEMENT
"This is the city I want to stay in. There are a lot of good people here," he said.
Khan described Mohammed as one who “is inspired by and attracted by Canadian values, that everyone has a contribution to make in society.”
"I expect good things from him," he said.
Mohammed fled Ghana for the United States in 2015 because he feared for his life due to his sexual orientation, but when he arrived in San Diego, he was detained for a year.
ADVERTISEMENT
He applied for asylum after his visa ran out but a judge denied his request.
"I ran for my life," Mohammed said.
He and another Ghanaian man, who he met in Minneapolis, decided to flee to Canada. The two of them took a bus to Grand Forks, N.D., then flagged a cab and spent $400 for a ride to a spot near the U.S.-Canada border on Dec. 24.
"There is a big farm around the border and we passed through. It was very difficult because when we stepped in that farm, the snow was [at] our waists," Mohammed said.
He said for at least seven hours, they trudged through snowy fields with the temperature hovering around the –18 C mark, without the wind chill factored in.
ADVERTISEMENT
They finally came upon Highway 75, near the Emerson, Man., border crossing.
According to CBC, the two men tried for hours to flag down trucks passing them by on the highway. A truck driver finally stopped and called 911 to get medical help for the men who were disoriented and cold. It is unclear how they managed to cross the border without being stopped.
They were both sent to the hospital for treatment.
Mohammed is one of hundreds of refugees that have crossed the Canada-U.S. border into Manitoba between ports of entry.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh
Recommended articles
Dumsor: ECG board members reject PURC GH¢5.8m fine
Woman who claims to have been taken to another world by dwarfs shares experience
Organised Labour threatens to strike May 2 over Tier-2 pension arrears
Nana Addo assures he will prioritize the welfare of cocoa farmers
Truck driver arrested for allegedly causing train accident on Tema-Mpakadan railway line
Kia driver who caused accident involving Ghana’s new train reports himself to Police
No passenger injured in accident involving Ghana’s newly imported train – Railways Minister
NAGRAT gives govt one-week deadline to address unpaid pensions affecting 700,000 workers
