When John Calvin moved to Canada five years ago, he never thought he would be fighting for his life to survive. He chose Canada because of its reputation as a vanguard of freedom, but then his past caught up to him.
The 24-year-old Edmonton resident grew up in Hamas, born in Nablus, in the West Bank. He said his maternal grandfather was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and one of the founders of Hamas. His five maternal uncles are all senior Hamas leaders.
As a young boy, he was indoctrinated and trained in the teachings and beliefs of Hamas. At age 11 he was running messages for his father and uncles and, by the time he was 14, he was a full-pledged member of Hamas.
Things changed when Calvin grew up and matured. Violence and hate slipped out of his mind. He realized there was more to the world than what he was taught to believe. He renounced Hamas and converted to Christianity. This bold move enraged his father who, at one point, tried to kill him. The Palestinian Authority jailed Calvin for a brief period of time on the charge of apostasy; the abandonment of established religion.
In 2010, through the help some friends, he escaped to the Jordan border and began his journey to Canada. He first landed in Toronto to study at a Bible college, moving on to a Bible school in Three Hills, Alberta. One year later he filed a refugee claim but, before his refugee claim could be heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board last December, he was ordered deported for being a member of a terrorist organization.
"I feel devastated more than afraid; that’s my initial reaction," said Calvin in a telephone interview.
He said his religious conversion, his betrayal of Hamas, and the fact that he is gay, all mean a return to the West Bank will be fatal.
"I will be put to death within a day or two. There’s no question about that. If I‘m not killed for being a Christian, I’d be killed for being gay. If I’m not killed for being Christian or gay ... I would be killed for treason, just because I have appeared on some Israeli media."
According to the refugee board, their issue was simply that Calvin, as a child, was a member of Hamas. This automatically puts his eligibility as a refugee in jeopardy, despite the reason for his exile to Canada being that he renounced Hamas.
Calvin’s story was featured in the Times of Israel, detailing his faith journey and painful struggles. In an attempt to escape his family in 2006, he ended up in a Tel Aviv jail for entering Israel illegally. Tragedy struck him in an Israeli prison cell, which would later spark his desire to convert to Christianity. In jail he said he was "raped by a Muslim man."
Following that harrowing experience he received assistance from both Jewish psychiatrists and the jail administration.
"That wasn’t the image I grew up with about Jewish people," he says. As a young boy Calvin was made to believe all Jewish people were ‘monsters’ whose goal in life is to kill and destroy Palestinians.
With the belief system he grew up with now collapsing, he began to glean everything good around him. He became interested in Christianity. He began reading the Bible in secret and, by the time he was 19, he was ready to formally convert – but that move was marred by a series of violent assaults committed by his father. Friends helped him flee to Jordan, where he accepted the scholarship to study in Canada. In late December, 2010, he arrived in Toronto and made a request there for refugee status before moving to Alberta to conclude his theology studies in 2012.
In July, 2012, his case was suspended by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) when Public Safety Canada decided that Calvin’s association with his family in Nablus, prior to age 18, constituted membership in Hamas, which Canada designates a terror organization. December 31st CBSA officials informed Calvin that his refugee request had been denied and he could be deported within 30 days. An immigration official found that Calvin had knowingly assisted Hamas by transferring coded messages through Israeli checkpoints, and even shot at Israeli Defense Force jeeps, as he testified to Canadian immigration.
Calvin and his lawyer are contesting the deportation in federal court, with the help of friends who have launched a crowd-funding campaign for him, as well as submitting an appeal to the Prime Minister’s office.
"I’m... somewhat devastated and disappointed and, at the same time, overwhelmed by support of people and friends I didn’t know I had."
Calvin said he didn’t come out until he was in Canada because being gay would have added to the precariousness of his situation, fleeing from the wrath of his family.
"I have no status, at the moment. I have no status," he said about his current plight of fighting deportation. "I mean for God’s sake this is Canada. We don’t do this kind of thing."
The young gay man said his life is on hold right now until the Supreme Court overturns the CBSA’s decision, a process that could be costly – up to $60,000 – for someone who has no other resources in Canada but the help of generous and caring strangers.
"It’s just unfair; it is against what Canada stands for," he says. "I can’t fight this law on my own. I just don’t have the means to."
Calvin says by fighting his deportation order he is hoping to set a precedent for others in a similar predicament. In the meantime, he is lost for words over the generosity of newfound friends he met through the gay community and Christian groups in Edmonton. Fundraising for Calvin is currently underway through gofundme.com.
Calvin isn’t the only gay person fighting to stay in Canada as a refugee. Benjamin Codjoe came to Canada last April, on a visitor’s visa. He was fleeing Ghanaian vigilantes who killed his boyfriend and were threatening to kill him too.
"My life is in danger in my country of origin," he said. It is illegal to be gay in Ghana. "That is why I’m asking to be considered a refugee in Canada."
Codjoe’s petition to remain in Canada as a refugee has been denied. He said government officials’ main issue with his application was that he didn’t file for a refugee status right away when he came to the country in April, 2014. He filed his application roughly four months later.
"I didn’t apply for the refugee status as soon as I came because I was afraid the Canadian Government will send me home if they find out I am a gay," he said. He is appealing his case.
"Even if my appeal is refused I can’t go back home. They will kill me."
