CASE STUDY 9: SAMANTHA

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Background

Samantha is the oldest child in the family and has three siblings, twin sisters and a brother. Shortly after Samantha was born, she and her mother came to Canada as permanent residents. Her father remained in Pakistan, while Samantha and her mother moved between the two countries.

Family and Systemic Violence Witnessed/Experienced

When Samantha’s parents lived together in Pakistan, Samantha’s father inflicted emotional, financial and physical abuse on her mother. Soon after Samantha was born in 1995, her mother immigrated with Samantha to Canada, and in 1997 her mother obtained permanent resident status.

Samantha’s father disagreed with Samantha’s mother’s decision to leave Pakistan and refused to provide financial support when they were living in Canada. Samantha and her mother stayed with a distant family friend before moving into a shelter. Samantha’s mother faced challenges navigating the Canadian shelter system. Due to financial constraints, Samantha and her mother returned to Pakistan when Samantha was two years old.

While in Pakistan, her mother gave birth to twin girls, but after this, her father became increasingly abusive. Samantha’s mother sought support from her family, who advised her to move back to Canada with Samantha. Samantha and her mother returned to Canada in 2000 when Samantha was about five years old, leaving behind her 1 ½ year-old twin sisters in Pakistan. Samantha’s mother depended on Ontario Works (OW), food banks and the Child Benefit for financial support. In 2003, when Samantha was eight years old, Samantha and her mother returned to Pakistan for a second time.

After returning to Pakistan, Samantha’s mother conceived her brother. Samantha’s father was kind to her mother initially but resumed his abusive behaviour in a few weeks. He physically abused her even when she was pregnant and often left her bruised and bleeding. Samantha’s mother began planning her return to Canada with Samantha. However, Samantha’s father took away their permanent resident documents and SIN card. Samantha and her mother escaped from home and stayed at a shelter in Pakistan, leaving the twins, who were about six years old by then, at home. While Samantha and her mother were at the shelter, Samantha’s father successfully obtained a court order for the custody of the twins.

In 2004, Samantha’s mother gave birth to a baby boy, but she had to leave him with her brother in Pakistan when she and 10-year-old Samantha returned to Canada, where they have lived since.  Soon after their return to Canada, Samantha’s father filed for custody of his newborn son and was successful. Thus, Samantha’s mother could not bring any of Samantha’s siblings to Canada.

Although Samantha’s father’s physical abuse ended once Samantha and her mother moved to Canada, Samantha’s mother still endured emotional trauma from leaving behind three of her children in Pakistan. She also suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of the years of abuse by her husband. Samantha’s mother’s mental health issues impacted her relationships and physical health. Her behaviour was unpredictable, and she was temperamental before she was diagnosed. On one such occasion, she was arrested in front of Samantha’s school friends and community members.

After coming to Canada, Samantha and her mother lived in extreme poverty despite receiving Ontario Works and Child Benefit support. They got some relief from financial stress when Samantha’s mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and they were switched to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which provided better financial support.

Samantha worked hard to develop her academic skills, and in grade eight, she was valedictorian and top of her class in math and science. She was given a leadership award in the year that her mother had physical and mental health crises. Samantha had to start working when she turned 16 to help support her mother and herself.

When Samantha was 22 years old and had completed her undergraduate degree, she began connecting with lawyers to sponsor her siblings. During this time, Samantha spent six months gathering letters of support to build a case for the immigration of her siblings on humanitarian grounds. Most of Samantha’s mentors and maternal family discouraged her from sponsoring her siblings. Despite this, Samantha continued to work at getting her siblings to Canada and giving them a better life. She found an immigration law firm in Montreal and applied to sponsor her siblings through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has successfully received permission to sponsor them.

Currently, Samantha lives with her mother and is very protective of her. She is pleased that she could work to fulfill her mother’s wish of getting her siblings to Canada and is eagerly waiting for reunification with her siblings in the future.

Experiences while Accessing Supports

Samantha’s mother faced challenges in obtaining proper legal advice regarding bringing her three minor children, who were born in Pakistan, to Canada.

Child Protection Services (CPS) became involved with Samantha when she was six. Samantha’s mother was too lenient and allowed Samantha to stay at home from school if she did not want to go. As a result, Samantha was absent from school often, and the school contacted CPS. After this, Samantha was afraid she would be removed from her mother and was careful not to speak about her situation.

When Samantha and her mother came back to Canada when Samantha was 10, they first lived in a shelter. At the shelter, Samantha’s mother talked about her experiences openly. She was offered many resources and received much support from the shelter staff. Samantha has remained connected with the shelter manager over the years, who has supported Samantha and provided a sponsorship letter for Samantha’s siblings.

In 2008 when Samantha was 13, her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent treatment for three months in a hospital. At this time, CPS contacted Samantha’s maternal uncle, who was living in the United States (US) as next of kin, asking if he could stay with Samantha. The alternative was placing Samantha in foster care. To avoid Samantha’s stay in foster care, Samantha’s uncle came from the US and stayed with Samantha.

When Samantha’s mother was an Ontario Works (OW) recipient, her relationship with the OW caseworker was challenging. They often visited Samantha’s mother in person, and she was very fearful of them. Samantha feels that her mother had a difficult relationship with CPS and OW because her mother would not communicate her need for support and could not navigate the services effectively. Additionally, Samantha and her mother felt they faced excessive scrutiny by OW staff. This underlying tension affected Samantha greatly; she thought that because of her mother’s mental health challenges, she would either be deported to Pakistan and placed in her father’s care or put into foster care.

Over the years, Samantha’s school teachers noted Samantha’s mother’s mental health struggles and were empathetic toward her mother. One of the teachers has maintained contact with Samantha and supports her.

The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health and Addictions (CAMH), a prominent mental health institution in Toronto, was extensively involved in Samantha’s mother’s treatment. The organization also supported Samantha, and she felt that it was easier to talk with them as their approach was supportive, which provided much-needed stability for Samantha.

Impacts of Family and Systemic Violence

Until Samantha turned 18, she was careful about her relationship with her father and did not offend him out of the fear that he would be given custody of her, and she would then have to live with him in Pakistan. However, from the age of 15, she worked to establish a good relationship with her father and eventually convinced him to allow her siblings to move to Canada.

Samantha and her mother had no contact with her twin sisters when they were between 7 and 18 years old. Once her sisters turned 18, Samantha connected with them on social media and electronic platforms. Samantha seldom speaks with her brother. Samantha has been financially supporting her siblings since she turned 18.

Samantha has a good relationship with her maternal aunt and her children, who live in the US. Samantha also has a good relationship with her maternal uncle and maternal grandparents. Samantha has no relationship with her paternal grandparents. Samantha is in contact with her paternal uncle and feels she gets along better with him than her father.

Moving between the Canadian and Pakistan education systems was academically disruptive for Samantha. In Canada, she struggled with English, and in Pakistan, with reading Urdu. As Samantha grew older, she became stronger academically and felt that school offered her stability and refuge.

Samantha’s experiences of witnessing FV, moving between two countries and caring for her unwell mother have made it challenging for Samantha to connect with friends because she thinks they would not understand her problems.

During her undergraduate program, Samantha followed the guidance of a friend and accessed mental health services through her university. She underwent an evaluation and was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. Samantha never followed up with treatment for these diagnoses because she is functional without treatment; she thinks she no longer suffers from PTSD. Samantha suspects that she has suffered from depression since she was 12 years old.