Legal Fund: Stop Sam's Deportation!
Donation protected
Sam is a close friend of mine. As we speak, Sam is awaiting deportation. The date has been set to September 30. He's lived in Canada for 12 years. He came as a child. This is a fund to cover his legal fees to hire a lawyer to argue for his stay and a deferral on his deportation while his application for PR is underway.
Read his story below.
In the dead of winter, Sam and his mother crossed Manggang, the river between North Korea and China. There, they met a pastor ministering in China who gave them food and shelter. They lived with him for six months. But, one of the active North Korean pastors was caught by Chinese authorities. Under torture, he gave the names of every member of his church including Sam and his mother. They were captured and sent back. ‘Illegal’ is what they were called. Once they returned, his mother was sent to a labour camp. She was tortured. They tried to escape three times. Each attempt marked a new year in his childhood. On the third try, his mother left alone. He was 11. He told me that, during this time, it was assumed that when a parent left their children, they left them for good. Thankfully, she later sent brokers to bring him out.
When they reached China, they jumped thirteen fences to cross into Mongolia. They were loaded into a truck where they made the journey to a Mongolian military base to be sent to South Korea. As they boarded the plane to South Korea, he remembers his mother telling him, “We're in the Promised Land. We've made it.” But their journey had only begun.
Sam and his mother believed in the Dream and went to South Korea looking for it. Instead, they were victims of discrimination. Sam tells me he was bullied for his North Korean accent and his height: visible markers of an alien from a backwards society. His mother never received treatment for her PTSD and depression. So, they left, still seeking the Dream.
Sam arrived in Toronto when he was 14. They used a broker to get to Canada. The broker told them to leave out major parts of their story: namely, the legal citizenship they obtained in South Korea. Last year, the Canadian government revoked their PR and sent deportation orders. They've lived here for more than 10 years. Sam is in his third year at York University, studying psychology. Currently, Sam and his family are requesting stay on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds. They are awaiting a decision on their status.
You’ve heard his story. I hope that it moves you in the same way that it moved me: to act.
Read his story below.
In the dead of winter, Sam and his mother crossed Manggang, the river between North Korea and China. There, they met a pastor ministering in China who gave them food and shelter. They lived with him for six months. But, one of the active North Korean pastors was caught by Chinese authorities. Under torture, he gave the names of every member of his church including Sam and his mother. They were captured and sent back. ‘Illegal’ is what they were called. Once they returned, his mother was sent to a labour camp. She was tortured. They tried to escape three times. Each attempt marked a new year in his childhood. On the third try, his mother left alone. He was 11. He told me that, during this time, it was assumed that when a parent left their children, they left them for good. Thankfully, she later sent brokers to bring him out.
When they reached China, they jumped thirteen fences to cross into Mongolia. They were loaded into a truck where they made the journey to a Mongolian military base to be sent to South Korea. As they boarded the plane to South Korea, he remembers his mother telling him, “We're in the Promised Land. We've made it.” But their journey had only begun.
Sam and his mother believed in the Dream and went to South Korea looking for it. Instead, they were victims of discrimination. Sam tells me he was bullied for his North Korean accent and his height: visible markers of an alien from a backwards society. His mother never received treatment for her PTSD and depression. So, they left, still seeking the Dream.
Sam arrived in Toronto when he was 14. They used a broker to get to Canada. The broker told them to leave out major parts of their story: namely, the legal citizenship they obtained in South Korea. Last year, the Canadian government revoked their PR and sent deportation orders. They've lived here for more than 10 years. Sam is in his third year at York University, studying psychology. Currently, Sam and his family are requesting stay on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds. They are awaiting a decision on their status.
You’ve heard his story. I hope that it moves you in the same way that it moved me: to act.
Co-organizers (2)
Sean Chung
Organizer
Toronto, ON
Sam Kim
Co-organizer