Family Who Lost Child Faces Deportation
Posted December 12, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They lost their son to a tragedy.
Will they lose their home in Canada, too?
That’s the question weighing heavily on a Scarborough family, still reeling from the drowning of their 11-year-old son.
Brunthan Nadarajah died on Sunday when he ventured onto at a pond at Finch and Morningside to try and rescue a 15-year-old friend who’d fallen through the ice. Rescuers were able to save his pal who remains in critical condition, but the young star athlete gave up his own life in the attempt.
As his family grieves the unthinkable loss, they’re now faced with another one – their status.
The family has had their refugee request declined by the federal government, after the boy’s father, Muralitharan Nadarajah, was involved in some questionable activities back in his native Sri Lanka.
Federal court documents appear to show Nadarajah was involved with the Tamil Tigers, a group designated as a terrorist organization in Canada.
The distraught dad denies the charges, arguing he was a math tutor back in his home country, and sympathizes with the struggle for freedom, but doesn’t advocate violence.
“I have never ever been involved in any violent or criminal activities in my whole life,” he stressed.
He’s hoping the tragedy of losing his son will convince authorities to change their minds about his family’s status on compassionate grounds. “Actually my family came to Canada 1997,” he relates through his tears. “I came to Canada in 1998. Still we don’t have status …
“Because of [my] social and political community activities into my whole life from my past, immigration refused to accept my whole family.”
The Nadarajahs stayed in Switzerland for a time before coming here. They’ve been fighting to stay, and the father notes his up in the air status means his family hasn’t been able to get health coverage and the situation has even affected his daughter’s stay at university.
“She is paying more than two-and-a-half times,” he explains. “She couldn’t get the loan.” His second daughter is likely to face the same dilemma. “If you don’t have status, they would consider you as [an ]international student.”
And if he’s sent home, the still-grieving father claims his own life will be in jeopardy.
“100%, definitely I will be killed,” he said.
Money is also a concern for the entire group. They’ll now have to scrape up enough to afford a funeral for their son.
Viewing for Brunthan will be held Thursday and Friday at the Ogden Funeral Home at 4614 Sheppard Ave. East near Midland.
His funeral will be from 9-11am on Saturday at Highland Memorial Gardens in Don Mills.
