These violent bouts increased in intensity and frequency over two years till she nearly got killed.
Talking to theAsian Pacific Post Sally says chokingly, "He beat me for over two hours screaming, ‘I will kill you!‘ All the while a male friend of his looked on doing nothing."
There were then calls to the police, cries for help, transition houses, separation and eventually divorce. This seems like the quintessential spousal abuse story. But it does not end there.
She went from pillar to post with her plea, garnering many supporters including her own constituency‘s MP then, Sophia Leung, but in the end this is the answer she got from Ottawa– the offence is not serious enough to warrant deportation.
According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, "Any permanent resident who is convicted of an offence under an Act of Parliament, such as the Canadian Criminal Code or the Controlled Drug and Substances Act for which a term of imprisonment of over six months has been imposed can be deported."
But Erwin though convicted had only been jailed for 13 days once besides flagrantly breaching his restraining order. Not enough to be considered "dangerous."
It was then that Sally formed the group Women Against Abusive Sponsored Spouses, hoping that with the combined voices of many in her situation Ottawa will move. "None of the Women‘s services here in BC could help me in this regard, so I decided to campaign on my own with the support of my friends and WAASS members. I know many others are in the same situation as me."
It is no secret that family violence is rife in Canadian society. According to Statistics Canada, rates of spousal violence by a current or previous partner in the last 5 years were as high as 7% for women and 6% of women, representing an estimated 653,000 women and 546,000 men.
After an airing of her story on CTV in October 05, WAASS went national — "So many women have emailed me or called since then – from Toronto and Montreal and from across all communities," says Sally.
On that very same program, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, cabinet minister responsible for deportation issues said, "If non-Canadian citizens are found to be here and to be a threat of a certain kind, then certainly we will move to remove them," promising to look into the case.
In Sally‘s last contact with McLellan‘s department (Ministry of Public Safety) she got this response, "I was told by Anne Mc Lellan‘s secretary that the department of Hon. McLellan is not the one responsible for deportation."
One of the many women who got in touch with Sally during her recent campaign was Shajila Singh, victim of spousal abuse of a different kind – sham marriages. Shajila was deceived into marrying a man solely for immigration purposes. She experienced rape, neglect, unfaithfulness and mental and emotional distress ultimately ending her marriage seven years later in January 2000.
Shajila is now hounded by the Provincial government for payment of dues collected by her ex-husband. "To make it worse the collection officer did not give me an appropriate time frame to respond and placed a lien on my property! says Shajila. "I feel like they are kicking me while I‘m already down."
Both Sally and Shajila have approached their local federal election candidate and Immigration critic, Bill Siksay (NDP), Burnaby urging him to take up the issue in the elections. According to Sally, "His response was supportive, though he couldn‘t take it up as an election issue.”
When contacted, Bill Siksay confirmed solidarity with the women, promising to take the issue up in parliament if elected.
Speaking to the Asian Pacific Post Siksay said, "To begin with people need to take the sponsorship contract very seriously when taking it up. But though the government has one policy for all, they need to give serious humanitarian and compassionate attention to cases of spousal abuse or deception. There is absolutely no justification in going after people who have already been abused, making them double victims."
As regards the deportation issue, he says, "There is a history of inconsistencies in dealing with deportation, convictions that were never fully carried out, where instead criminals slip through the system and deserving cases deported.”
So as the country looks for change, improvement or not, in many areas of law and governance in the upcoming elections, Sally Santiago‘s fear for her life has turned into hope that through her sustained WAASS campaign and numerous supporters like Shajila Singh she will some how make a chink in the Immigration laws for her and many others in her condition.
How to contact Sally Santiago and Shajila Singh:
Tel: 604.434.2308
Email: deportation2003@shaw.ca
Website: http://www.shajila.com/
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Know your facts:
What does it mean to Sponsor?
When you agree to sponsor, you must sign an undertaking. The undertaking is a promise to provide financial support for your spouse or common-law partner‘s basic requirements and those of his or her dependent children.
Note: Basic requirements are food, clothing shelter and other needs for everyday living. Dental care, eye care and other needs not covered by public health services are also included. The undertaking ensures the applicant and his or her dependent children do not have to apply for social assistance.
Length of undertaking:
Immigrant / Length of Undertaking
Your spouse or common-law partner: Three (3) years after the day he or she becomes a permanent resident
Dependent children over 22 years of age: Three (3) years after the day he or she becomes a permanent resident
Dependent children under 22 years of age: 10 years after the day he or she becomes a permanent resident or until the child reaches 25 years of age, whichever comes first
If payments from a federal, provincial or municipal assistance program are made while the undertaking is valid, you will be considered in default. You may have to repay to the government concerned any benefits received by the applicant and until then you will not be allowed to sponsor other relatives.
