[URBAN NOTE] "Gay Caribbean man granted refugee status after three year fight"

[rfmcdonald]

Daily Xtra's Arshy Mann notes the happy news that a GLBT refugee claimant from the Caribbean has secured refugee status.

It took Rolston Ryan, who now lives in Toronto, six legal proceedings, include two trips to the Federal Court, to finally be acknowledged as a refugee.

“He suffered harassment, discrimination and violence in St Kitts amounting to persecution,” wrote Michele Pettinella, the member of the Immigration and Refugee Board who decided his case. “He did not receive adequate protection from the state when he reported a violent attack.”

Ryan, who was stabbed and beaten in St Kitts because of his sexual orientation, escaped to Canada in 2013 after he was threatened with a gun.

Unlike some LGBT asylum seekers, Ryan’s sexual orientation was never in doubt. Instead, immigration officials argued that there wasn’t any evidence that St Kitts and Nevis was unable to protects its queer citizens.

This is despite the fact that gay sex remains illegal in the island federation and can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.