TORONTO-A refugee who fled Chad to seek asylum in Canada after experiencing a vicious forced marriage and faced security risks. The refugee will face deportation in June.

Mariam Moussa Agrei was only 15 when she married a 32-year-old man, which is common in African countries. When her husband died in 2010, she was expected to marry her brother-in-law in accordance with local customs.

Instead, she chose to flee.

Moussa Agrei told CTV National News: “I decided to come to Canada because I was forced to get married when I was 15 years old and suffer physical, sexual and emotional abuse every day.” I used to be a child. “

Before going to Canada, Moussa Agrei also worked as a journalist and human rights activist in Chad, raising concerns about sexual and gender-based violence, human rights violations, and illegal detention.

She said her work made her a target of the government Known for human rights violations Under President Idriss Deby Itno (Idriss Deby Itno), he ruled from the 1990s until April 2021 due to casualties and continued fighting with rebel forces.

His son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, was appointed as the next ruler, although the protests shook the death of the late president.

She said: “As a woman in Chad, you don’t have the right to go to school, you don’t have the right to leave the house without your husband’s permission.” “If a woman goes to the police station for sexual abuse, they will say to her:’ Why are you going there? It depends on what you wear. They will blame her.”

Moussa Agrei said that the situation in Chad made her fear for her life-she “will be abused, raped or worse.”

So she fled to Canada to seek asylum.

She said: “I chose Canada because it welcomes refugees. It is compassionate and I think I will be safe and protected here.” “This is the first time I have been able to receive mental health treatment. In Chad , This is a taboo.”

“I can’t take it anymore. I want to heal. I want to continue treatment.”

Now Moussa Agrei faces deportation after his asylum application and appeal are rejected.

Her lawyer Swathi Sekhar told CTV National News that it was because immigrants “are looking for a specific answer, and some people don’t fit that box.”

A kind Petition on Change.org Asked to retain the deportation of Moussa Agrei, Moussa Agrei is known for his kindness, understanding and “can give even without any dedication”.

She told CTV National News about her volunteer work at YMCA, homeless shelter and UN branch in Toronto. “This is how I want to express my gratitude and give back… I want to contribute myself, I want to be a useful person.”

Moussa Agrei hopes that the petition will exert enough pressure to enable her to stay, because the upcoming court date is imminent and time is running out.

“I am safe here.”

Moussa was told to book a flight back to Chad and planned to be deported on June 12.

CTV National News contacted the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) regarding the Moussa Agrei case and asked why-in the pandemic, travel restrictions and According to the Canadian government’s own warning, “Avoid all travel to Chad” Due to armed conflict-this decision has moved forward.

In a statement sent to CTV National News via email, CBSA stated that they were unable to understand the case in detail due to the Privacy Act, but stated that “the expulsion of Canadians follows a series of complex procedures and recourse mechanisms. Procedures and recourse mechanisms can provide foreign citizens with appropriate procedural privileges. Only after these procedures have been exhausted, CBSA can deport someone from Canada.

CBSA stated that since November 30, 2020, all planned relocations postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in March last year have resumed.

Moussa Agrei’s lawyer Sekhar appealed the deportation decision.

“This is an expulsion of her death.”