Refugee Claim Canada

If your client does not have a "Nexus" or "Grounds of Persecution" and you believe your client meets the definition of aPerson in Need of Protection (A97), then please specify the applicable section(s) of A97. Please review the following resourcesfrom the IRB website:

• "Consolidated Grounds in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: Persons in Need of Protection - Danger of Torture"
• "Consolidated Grounds in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: Persons in Need of Protection - Risk to Life or Risk of Cruel and Unusual Treatment or Punishment"

If you believe the client meets the definition of A97(1)(a) then identify and explain the following four legal issues for your client:

1. Personal Risk
2. Danger of Torture
3. Burden of Proof
4. Protection

If you believe the client meets the definition of A97(1)(b) then identify and explain the following four legal issues for your client:

1. Personal Risk
2. State Protection
3. Internal Flight Alternative
4. Risk Not Faced Generally

My name is Peter Pepper and I am from Bacsalmas, Bacs-Kiskun County, Hungary. I am 35 years old. I was a high school teacher in our small town. I wanted to start a small

business but I was short about 15.000,000 Forints. I planned to open a bicycle shop in my small town. I tried to obtain a loan at several banks, but without any success. I first applied for a loan at the OTP Bank but after a month of waiting, my application was declined because I did not have enough collateral. I tried applying for a small business loan at the Postabank, but my application was declined because the bank did not accept my agricultural land as collateral.

An acquaintance, named Jovan Arpad, mentioned that one of his friends had received a loan from anentrepreneur by the name of Alex Kinizsi. Jovan gave me Alex's phone number afew days later. I phoned Alex, explaining my situation, and we arranged to meet. At the meeting, I arranged for a loan and the terms were agreed between us. Unfortunately, the interest on the loan was 50%, which was extremely high. However, I had no choice in the matter as this was the only venue for me to raise the necessary funds to start my business. I believed that my business venture was a sound investment, as I wanted to open a bicycle shop and there was no other bicycle shop in my area. Moreover, many of my friends and acquaintances were interested in owning or maintaining bicycles as a means of transportation. I felt confident that I could repay the loan from the profits of the business. Two weeks later, at our second meeting, Alex gave me the requested amount in one lump sum. I found it suspicious that he was able to provide such a large amount of cash on such short notice, but I was happy to receive the money.

With the substantial loan, I was able to finally open my business. However, a few months later, I realized that the business was not going to be as profitable as I had anticipated. Consequently, I would not be able to meet the prepayment schedule of the loan.

I struggled to make the payments for many months. I even went so far as to sell some of my personal possessions. Despite my efforts, I was unable to make the payments. I soon began receiving threats to my life. The first threat occurred on a Monday evening. I was in my room watching the news at 10:00 PM on television, when the phone rang. I answered the phone and I was told by an unknown voice that if I did not make the payments I would be beaten. The person warned me not to contact the police, threatening to kill my entire family if I disobeyed.

The next morning at 9:00 AM, despite the warning, I went to the local police station. Ibelieved that my country's justice system could help me. The officer on duty told me that the person who was in charge of the reporting was away and that he would return to the office an hour later. However, when I came back an hour later, the officer was still unavailable. The police were clearly not the least bit interested in my complaints.

Exasperated, I called Alex and tried to renegotiate the loan. He was very angry and told me that,"you have only had the first taste of what awaits you if you do not keep to the previously arranged terms, and believe me, I will follow though". I became very concerned. Ifelt that at the very least he should have been willing to lower the exorbitant interest or accept smaller payments. I had no initial plans to default on the loan but after this conversation I realized that unless I met the terms, I would be in very serious trouble. I tried to borrow money from friends, but things were getting out of hand as the interest kept growing and compounding daily. I found myself in a very difficult situation. I planned to continue making whatever payments I could, knowing that no payment would be enough to satisfy Alex unless itwas the full amount. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage, as I was running very low onfunds and articles to sell.

I was also very worried about my family. At the time, I was living in my parents' home,although my parents and brother spend a great deal of time away at my grandfather's farm. Asa result, they were not around during the threatening phone calls, nor were they present when many of the other incidents herein described occurred. I did my best to shield them from my folly. In fact, when I eventually left Hungary, it was partly to protect them from danger.

One evening, at around 8:00 PM, I was at home in the backyard working on my motorcycle when I heard a car suddenly pull up with its engine still running. A few secondslater, I heard the noise of broken glass. Immediately afterwards, I heard the car's tires screeching as it drove off. I ran over to see what had happened. When I arrived at my garage, I saw flames erupting and heavy smoke spewing everywhere. I entered the garage and opened my car trunk, as my fire extinguisher was stored inside. I began extinguishing the fire, which already reached the roof of the garage. I eventually managed to quell the fire. I called the fire department and they arrived ten minutes later to investigate the cause of the fire. The fire department established that a bottle filled with some kind of inflammable material had been thrown at my garage.

I was petrified and did not know what do, so I decided to telephone the police, foolishly hoping that they would look into this matter. The police officer asked if I was safe and if I had sustained any injuries. I replied that I was not harmed and asked if the police could come investigate the matter or make a report. The officer asked if I knew who the perpetrators were and if I could identify them. I informed him that I had my suspicions, but that I had no concrete

evidence. According to the police officer, there was not much the police could do under the circumstances as the perpetrators were unknown and arson was a common problem in the area. Although I was reluctant to directly incriminate Alex Kinizsi in these matters, I was beginning to think that I had no choice. Yet I feared repercussions if I ever mentioned his name to the police. Alex obviously had strong ties to the criminal underworld, as I was discovering much to my dismay.

I eventually apprised my parents and brother of the terrible circumstances that I had brought upon us all. I told them about the loan and the threats. I added, however, that as long as they continued to spend most of their time away from the house, they would likely not become targets, or at least that was my hope. My parents and brother were petrified, and remarked that police protection in Hungary was scant.

I was at home preparing dinner one evening when I heard the doorbell ring. Looking out the window, I saw that it was my neighbor. I opened the door and saw that he appeared very worried. He asked if I had seen what had happened to my car. Bewildered, I quickly ran to thestreet where my car was parked about forty meters away. I saw that the car's engine hood hadbeen severely dented in several spots while the windshield, the windows, and the lights were completely smashed. I immediately called the police and was I instructed to go to the station and make a report. The police, however, did not come to the scene as they claimed that they had too many incidents to investigate. I went to the police station the next morning and reported the incident. I never heard anything else about the investigation even after I made several inquiries about its progress. Eventually, the investigation was dropped due to a lack of evidence.

A few weeks later, I was beginning to breathe a sigh of relief as things seemed to have quieted down since my car was vandalized. I continued to scrounge money together and makepayments to Alex's representative whenever I could, who would appear at my door on a regularbasis. My small payments, however, did not even come close to the terms of the original agreement. I had not heard anything from Alex or his thugs, so I assumed that my current payments had been deemed sufficient to satisfy the contract. It turned out that I was very wrong.

I was walking home late one evening when suddenly a blue Audi 80 car stopped near the pavement. Suddenly, three strangers jumped out of the car and, without a word, they attacked me. One of them twisted my arm and pressed me against the fence while the other grappled my body. The third person began punching me in the stomach. The three men then pushed me to the ground and started violently kicking me. Luckily, a few neighbours witnessed the kicking and rushed to my aid. My assailants fled back to their car and drove away. I had several bad bruises on my arms and legs and my stomach felt very sore, although my injuries

were not serious enough to seek medical attention. One of the neighbours walked me to my house and put me to bed. I was very sore for the following few days. I considered filing a police report, but from my previous experience, I knew they would not do Anything for me. At this point, I began fearing for my life and the safety of my family. I knew I could not meet the loan commitments and the usurious interest payments.

I was on my way home from my friend's place late one evening when I was nearly runover by a car. As I was crossing an intersection, I saw a green Lada 1300 car approaching the pedestrian crossing slowly. I was half-way on the pedestrian crossing when I heard the car'stires screeching from the ground. I looked up and saw the car speeding in my direction. Fortunately, I had enough time to jump away from the speeding car; however, the car missed me by only a few centimeters. After a few seconds, the car turned around and came back toward me, but by then another vehicle had turned onto the main road from the other street. As a result, the Lada car was forced to slow down due to the traffic, where it eventually turned to another street and gave up its pursuit.

After this experience I ran home terrified that someone would try to kill me again. I called the police immediately when I got home. I was instructed to go to the police station the next morning to report the incident. First thing in the morning, I went to the police station and reported the incident. By now, I had become very fearful. I considered moving to another town, but I realized that this would be pointless because Alex could track me down. He clearly had extensive underground connections in Hungary.

I knew that if I wanted to survive I would have to leave the country. It was obvious to me that there was no form of protection for me in Hungary as the police were not willing to help me. Nothing ever came of the previous reports that I filed to the police. Despite my many inquiries, they did not provide me with any information on either investigation.

I heard that Canada was a good country and in fact my uncle resided there. I decided to come to Canada to escape the life-threatening conditions I was experiencing in Hungary. I sold off all my tools and my motorcycle to raise money for my airfare. My parents also contributed what they could. Unfortunately, we were only able to raise enough money for one airplane ticket. Since I was the root of the problem, it made sense for me to leave Hungary. I came to Canada by myself to visit for a stay of about 6 months in order to help improve my English. I have been staying with my uncle in Vancouver.

My parents and brother have also considered leaving Hungary. I still worry about them on a daily basis because they may still be in danger. However, as long as I am out of the country, I feel there is a larger measure of safety for them. I did not make a refugee claim at the port of entry, as I was happy just to be free of the horrors that I had experienced in Hungary. I

also did not want to burden the state if it was not necessary. However, as time went on, I realized that it would never be tenable for me to return to Hungary. My neighbours and my parents have phoned me on several occasions, telling me that they have seen unscrupulous people snooping around my property. I dread returning, my life is in danger there and I have had so many life-threatening encounters.