Viktoria (Lulu) Pusuma, 7, says she’s excited about finally going to school in Canada, something she couldn’t do when she and her family took refuge in a Toronto church while in exile from Hungary. (CBC)

Viktoria (Lulu) Pusuma, 7, says she’s excited about finally going to school in Canada, something she couldn’t do when she and her family took refuge in a Toronto church while in exile from Hungary.
Photo Credit: CBC

Roma family returns to Canada

A Roma family from Hungary has returned to Canada 18 months after they were forced to leave the country amid complaints that their asylum request was bungled by their immigration lawyer.

Jozsef Pusuma, his wife, Timea Daroczi, and their daughter Viktoria (Lulu) were greeted by cheering supporters Thursday as they walked out from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport customs area.

“This is freedom’s smell!” Daroczi, exclaimed, stepping outside the airport surrounded by the family’s supporters from the Windermere United Church and Romero House.

In 2009, the family fled from Hungary, alleging that they were the targets of violence for their Roma rights activism.

Their asylum claim was heard in 2010. But the Immigration and Refugee Board rejected the Pusuma’s claim.

Having exhausted all the other legal avenues, the Pusumas sought sanctuary in the Windermere United Church with help from their supporters. They also lodged complaints against their lawyer Viktor Hohots with the Law Society of Upper Canada, along with other failed Roma refugee claimants he had represented.

 Timea Daroczi, pictured with her husband, Jozsef Pusuma, step outside the airport after their return to Canada. (CBC)
Timea Daroczi, pictured with her husband, Jozsef Pusuma, step outside the airport after their return to Canada. © CBC

But the Pusumas eventually were forced to move even out of their church sanctuary and go back to Hungary in December 2014.

In May 2015, Hohots was handed a contentious five-month suspension by the Law Society of Upper Canada for the claims he handled from 2009 to 2013. He failed to show up for hearings, submit documents and mixed up clients’ stories.

Hohots was barred from practising refugee law for two years, ordered to undergo a practice review and pay $15,000 in legal fees.

Yet former Conservative Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and his successor Chris Alexander refused to reopen the Pusumas’ case despite the troubling allegations.

At the time, the Canadian government had been working to stem the flow of Roma refugees mainly from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Kenney dismissed what it called “bogus” refugee claims from these newly minted EU countries, even travelling to Hungary to discourage Roma from travelling to Canada. 

It all changed when in November 2015, the Liberals assumed power.

In February, the new Liberal Immigration Minister John McCallum reconsidered the family’s plea and arranged the Pusuma’s return on humanitarian grounds.

Their case against Hohots also helped change the way Legal Aid Ontario selects refugee lawyers to ensure asylum seekers receive quality legal representation.

With files from CBC News

Categories: Immigration & Refugees
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