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THE SOUTHEAST JOURNAL February 9, 2017 Pg 16<br />
refugees were sent to<br />
Winnipeg by the CBSA.<br />
There were men,<br />
women and children<br />
A Day on the Border<br />
By Don Piett<br />
It started with a phone<br />
call at 8:30 am. The call<br />
came from the Canadian<br />
Border Services Agency<br />
to Brenda Piett, Assistant<br />
Municipal Emergency<br />
Coordinator for the<br />
Municipality of <strong>Emerson</strong><br />
Franklin. Full disclosure,<br />
she is also my wife and<br />
together we own this<br />
newspaper.<br />
The Border Agency<br />
had fourteen asylum<br />
seekers at Immigration<br />
who had crossed the<br />
border illegally during<br />
the night. What they<br />
didn’t have was the room<br />
to keep that many people<br />
for the amount of time<br />
it would take to process<br />
them. They asked what<br />
we would have to do<br />
to utilize the <strong>Emerson</strong><br />
Community Complex<br />
for the refugees, similar<br />
to when a blizzard closes<br />
the highway.<br />
Brenda agreed<br />
to open the Complex<br />
and called in another<br />
volunteer. When the<br />
CBSA called back, they<br />
had four people who<br />
they wanted taken to the<br />
complex. The refugees<br />
had been through<br />
initial processing, but<br />
they were not finished.<br />
Brenda picked them up<br />
and when they arrived at<br />
the Complex, they set up<br />
the makeshift beds and<br />
went to sleep.<br />
As the day went on,<br />
more people arrived,<br />
brought by CBSA as<br />
initial processing moved<br />
ahead. Later, they would<br />
be picked up and taken<br />
back to the border for<br />
further processing. The<br />
final group was picked<br />
up at 8:30 pm. After the<br />
final processing, the<br />
This is how most of the refugees spent their day in <strong>Emerson</strong><br />
in the group. The<br />
children were not taken<br />
to the Complex. The<br />
refugees came from<br />
Somalia and Djibouti.<br />
Communication was<br />
very limited as they did<br />
not speak English. One<br />
of them spoke French,<br />
but as we don’t, that<br />
didn’t help.<br />
At one point there<br />
was 10 asylum seekers at<br />
the Complex. As stated,<br />
they slept most of the<br />
day, after all they had<br />
been up most of the<br />
night. When they were<br />
awake, they were very<br />
quiet and polite. They<br />
seemed relieved to be<br />
somewhere warm and<br />
safe.<br />
As yet there was no<br />
protocol for this, so<br />
meetings will be held<br />
between the Municipality<br />
and the Border Services<br />
to establish guidelines.<br />
People have been<br />
seeking asylum in<br />
Canada for years, but<br />
recent events have<br />
increased the number.<br />
With the widely<br />
publicized ban on entry<br />
from some Muslim<br />
majority countries in<br />
the United States, more<br />
people are deciding that<br />
the best move for them<br />
is Canada.<br />
This requires crossing<br />
the border illegally, then<br />
applying at Immigration<br />
M of <strong>Emerson</strong> Franklin<br />
Senior Services<br />
Office hours:<br />
Monday and Wednesday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm<br />
Friday: 8:00 am to 3:45 pm Please contact Lorri French<br />
204.427.2869(office)<br />
franklinseniorservices@hotmail.ca<br />
Community Senior<br />
Events<br />
Foot Care Clinic<br />
When: Tuesday<br />
February 14, 2017<br />
Where: <strong>Emerson</strong> Clinic<br />
If interested call Lorri<br />
for an appointment.<br />
Foot Care Clinic<br />
When: Friday February<br />
17, 2017<br />
Where: Abberyfield<br />
Dominion City<br />
If interested call Lorri<br />
for an appointment.<br />
“Garment of Praise”<br />
will be singing for us<br />
When: February 12,<br />
2017<br />
Where: Dominion City<br />
Manor<br />
Cost: No Charge<br />
just come and enjoy<br />
everyone’s company.<br />
A Fireside Evening<br />
Soloist: Jackie<br />
Chubey<br />
When: February 14,<br />
2017<br />
Where: Abbeyfield<br />
House Dominion City-<br />
Upper dining/living<br />
area<br />
Time: 7:00-9:00 pm<br />
Cost: Silver collection<br />
Coffee/tea/snacks/<br />
(if you choose, bring<br />
a snack to share<br />
and bring your own<br />
refreshments)<br />
Blue Sky<br />
Opportunities Tour<br />
then out for Lunch at<br />
Jasmine Tea Room<br />
When: March 14, 2017<br />
Where: Blue Sky<br />
Opportunities Altona.<br />
After tour we will dine<br />
at Jasmine Tea Room.<br />
If interested call Lorri<br />
Power up computer<br />
training course.<br />
Manitoba Status of<br />
Women<br />
I would like to thank<br />
for refugee status.<br />
<strong>Emerson</strong> has become a<br />
hot point for this because<br />
it is relatively easy to<br />
cross here, and there is a<br />
24 hour Border Services<br />
Agency Office.<br />
Manitoba Sport,<br />
Culture and Heritage<br />
Status of Women for<br />
the grant money. This<br />
computer course was<br />
a huge success!<br />
I would also like<br />
to thank Lorie<br />
Greyorchuck for the<br />
wonderful job she did<br />
teaching us. There<br />
were 14 participants<br />
and everyone enjoyed<br />
the course very much!<br />
This was a grant from<br />
Manitoba Sport,<br />
Culture and Heritage<br />
Status of women.<br />
Have a Great Week!<br />
17022MC0
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