| EDWIN'S JOURNEY CONTINUES IN CANADA
Edwin Raudales, the Honduran teenager
who rode, hitchhiked and walked over 6400 kilometres
to reach Nelson, B.C. was about to graduate from
Grade 12 at the local high school. (read more about
Edwin)
Edwin had become a good student and applied for
refugee status on compassionate grounds in Canada.
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Edwin received a letter from Ottawa
that informed him that he was about to be deported
back to Honduras. They weren't about create a precedent
for teenagers from central America.
Edwin had already told his teacher and mentor Karl
Machato his story. Then his incredible journey became
public.
He had been chased by Mexican soldiers and police,
held at gunpoint by gangs, jailed in a Mexican prison
and begged for food for months on the road.
Karl Machato: He'd
fought through everything, going across borders
in the jungle, trusting people he didn't even know,
having no food, and being sent to jail. But in this
situation, the hardest thing for him was that it
was out of his control and he couldn't do anything
about it.
His lawyer Emma Andrews filed last minute appeals,
but there didn't seem to be much hope.
Friends and teachers in Nelson rallied to his side
in a last minute attempt stop his deportation. Eighteen
hundred people signed a petition and $6500 was raised.
They did everything they could to plead Edwin's
case. His story became national news. (see CBC.ca:
Honduran
teen living in B.C. faces deportation )
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His French teacher Nancy Pulsifer
arranged for the community to sponsor Edwin. They
guaranteed that he would not become a burden to society
and that Edwin could live with her for free.
His supporters argued that it just wasn't safe to
send Edwin back. His hometown neighbourhood is controlled
by vicious gangs.
His mother, brothers and sisters hadn't seen him for
five years.
Mrs. Raudales:
I couldn't afford to send him to school here because
I'm poor and I have no money. I thank God, although
I do miss him now that he is in Canada. From the pictures
he has sent me I can see that he is happy.
Former classmate Zoe Caron photographed
the crowd who had gathered to send Edwin off to Vancouver
before his final court date.
Zoe Caron:
The biggest thing I remember from that night was
that everybody was crying, people were trying to
hold it back but the teachers were starting to cry,
and of course, Edwin did too.
His dream of a better life was about to come to
an end.
Then there was a glimmer of hope. The appeals court
put a temporary hold on his deportation so that
he could finish the school year. (read the CBC.ca
new story: Honduran
teen can stay)
Nancy Pulsipher:
It's a bit emotional really, we're thrilled. He
has to be in class tomorrow afternoon. No more celebrity
status now - it's back to life as an ordinary Canadian.
Fighting deportation had cost him a month of his studies.
But when he returned to class Edwin got back to work.
He graduated from high school with distinction.
Edwin:
I was just a simple kid with a simple life and all
of a sudden everybody knows me and everybody respects
me. My goal was to show them that I really want
to be here and that I really want to be part of
their society.
Then, two years later, while
filming his story with the fifth estate, Edwin pulled
out a letter he had just received from the government.
(read about this incident in filmmaker's
notes)
He learned that he was granted the permission to
stay. (Read the court's
decision)
Karl Machado:
Congratulations, I've gotta give you a hug for this.
You didn't know what was going to be in there did
you?
Five years after his desperate race to Canada, Edwin
finally has a work permit. He can start earning
money to save for college. He wants to become a
nurse.
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