WINNIPEG (CBC) - Three sisters who spent 20 years trying to immigrate to Canada after fleeing the killing fields of Cambodia finally arrived in Manitoba this year - but the province is hardly laying out the welcome mat, their relatives complain.
The parents of of Mai Ha, Thu Mai Ha and Thien Mai Ha fled Cambodia with their children in May 1975, when the girls were 13, seven, and two years old, respectively.
The family lived in Vietnamese refugee camps for years, until one of their brothers, Thanh Ha, moved to Canada in 1986 as a landed immigrant and government-assisted refugee.
Thanh Ha tried worked for years to bring the rest of his family to Canada. His mother, father and brother arrived in 1994 - but the applications of his three sisters were delayed for nearly two decades as Canadian immigration officials misplaced their documents and made repeated errors when considering their cases.
While they waited for a resolution in their cases, the three sisters continued to live in a refugee camp in Vietnam, where - due to their temporary immigration status - they were ineligible for health insurance and social insurance, and could not own property, run their own business or even obtain driver's licences.
Finally, after years of legal wrangling, the Ha sisters' cases were reviewed by the director of the federal Immigration Department's director of case management, who allowed them to come to Canada under temporary residence permits, a special and infrequently granted type of status.
Trouble with language classes, library cards
The three women had job offers before they came to Winnipeg, and are already working.
But their family says they continue to have problems with their immigration status.
It started when officials at the Vancouver airport wouldn't recognize their documents and detained them for hours, family members told CBC News.
Since then, they've continued to face hassles receiving services in Manitoba.
Trying to get the women into English language classes in Manitoba became a battle of wills, as officials refused to recognize their documents, said their brother-in-law, Nam Le.
Even getting a library card has become a bureaucratic nightmare, he said.
"It's not fair," he said. "The government in Manitoba, they don't recognize this situation. They make it hard for them when they need help."
Janis Nickel, an advocate with the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council who is helping the sisters navigate the bureaucracy, said the government is compounding the problem.
"This category isn't very well-known," he said. "They can't apply for permanent residence for at least three years, and then it's going to take another two years before they ever get their permanent residence.
"So basically they've gone from limbo in Vietnam to limbo in Canada."
In spite of the problems, Mai Hai, now 46, is optimistic about the future.
"My wait is 20 years, long time, [to] come to Canada," she said.
"I like Manitoba. Happy to go to school, study English good."
The parents of of Mai Ha, Thu Mai Ha and Thien Mai Ha fled Cambodia with their children in May 1975, when the girls were 13, seven, and two years old, respectively.
The family lived in Vietnamese refugee camps for years, until one of their brothers, Thanh Ha, moved to Canada in 1986 as a landed immigrant and government-assisted refugee.
Thanh Ha tried worked for years to bring the rest of his family to Canada. His mother, father and brother arrived in 1994 - but the applications of his three sisters were delayed for nearly two decades as Canadian immigration officials misplaced their documents and made repeated errors when considering their cases.
While they waited for a resolution in their cases, the three sisters continued to live in a refugee camp in Vietnam, where - due to their temporary immigration status - they were ineligible for health insurance and social insurance, and could not own property, run their own business or even obtain driver's licences.
Finally, after years of legal wrangling, the Ha sisters' cases were reviewed by the director of the federal Immigration Department's director of case management, who allowed them to come to Canada under temporary residence permits, a special and infrequently granted type of status.
Trouble with language classes, library cards
The three women had job offers before they came to Winnipeg, and are already working.
But their family says they continue to have problems with their immigration status.
It started when officials at the Vancouver airport wouldn't recognize their documents and detained them for hours, family members told CBC News.
Since then, they've continued to face hassles receiving services in Manitoba.
Trying to get the women into English language classes in Manitoba became a battle of wills, as officials refused to recognize their documents, said their brother-in-law, Nam Le.
Even getting a library card has become a bureaucratic nightmare, he said.
"It's not fair," he said. "The government in Manitoba, they don't recognize this situation. They make it hard for them when they need help."
Janis Nickel, an advocate with the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council who is helping the sisters navigate the bureaucracy, said the government is compounding the problem.
"This category isn't very well-known," he said. "They can't apply for permanent residence for at least three years, and then it's going to take another two years before they ever get their permanent residence.
"So basically they've gone from limbo in Vietnam to limbo in Canada."
In spite of the problems, Mai Hai, now 46, is optimistic about the future.
"My wait is 20 years, long time, [to] come to Canada," she said.
"I like Manitoba. Happy to go to school, study English good."
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