'To No Man's Land': Deportation to Somalia (Part Two)
We continue with our investigation into how Canada deports people to one of the most dangerous societies on earth - Somalia.
On yesterday's program, we heard from a former director with Canada Border Services Agency -- or CBSA -- who explained that Somalia is such a dangerous place, that federal regulations actually prohibit Canadian employees from flying in and accompanying deportees there.
Instead, the agency will hire charter airlines to fly deportees in from neighbouring countries, such as Kenya. They're flown into Somalia without legal paperwork, because the chronically unstable government there makes getting official travel documents impossible.
These deportations can and sometimes do go off the rails.
Yesterday, in Part One of John Chipman's documentary, "To No Man's Land," we heard the story of Saeed Jama. He was deported from Edmonton to Somalia in November, 2012. Upon landing in Mogadishu, he says he was smuggled out of the airport -- and then turned over to an armed Somali gang.
Today, we air Part Two of this documentary, which first aired in November.
We requested an interview with Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who's responsible for the Agency that oversees deportations. He declined our request-- as did Canada Border Services Agency President Luc Portelance.
The trial for Bashir Gaashaan, accused in the death of Jenna Cartwright is scheduled for October of this year.
Mohammed Barre Bulle has moved out of the refugee camp in northern Kenya where he'd been living for the past several years. He moved back to a Somali village close to the border.
