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I recently met with Naomi and her children and was greeted at the door by two active five year-olds, excitedly singing, “we’re going to Dublin, we’re going to Dublin.” A tall, slim, attractive woman who carries herself like a fashion model, then welcomed me into her home for a cup of tea. Naomi’s calm demeanour belies the stress and anxiety she has been through over the past several years. When I asked how these circumstances came about, she explained, “our family moved from the United States to Vancouver in 2000. We came to live here because my husband is Canadian. Unfortunately, things did not work out and he returned to California, leaving the children and myself here in Vancouver. “For whatever reason, my husband never took the responsibility of sponsoring me here, even though the children are Canadian citizens. So that left me in the position of having to apply for landed immigrant status, which I have done for the past three and a half years. And after spending thousands of dollars with immigration lawyers and God knows what...we got the final word that I had to leave. “When I first heard the news last May that I would have to leave, I called an immigration officer and spoke with him regarding the children, because they weren’t mentioned on the order for me to leave. He basically said that the children would have to stay and if they couldn’t stay with their dad, then I must to leave them with a friend or they would have to go into foster care.” Determined to maintain custody of her children but with no money left to hire lawyers to fight her case, and no entitlement to either legal aid or child tax benefits, Naomi borrowed a book from a friend entitled, Help to Find Your Way Around a Courtroom and resolved to take on the numerous lawyers involved in the case. She said, “I basically wiped them out because I told the truth and I looked the judge in the eye, but you can’t image how stressful that was. I pulled out very positive points and that’s how I managed. “At the trial on January 5 this year, I won full custody and guardianship of our children. Later at an interview with immigration officials, they were delighted to know that I had won full custody and guardianship of the children.” While the experience has been an enormous strain, Naomi has managed to maintain a positive attitude and expressed concerns for others who might find themselves in similar circumstances but be even less equipped to take on the system. She explains, “because of what I have been through, I have learned tolerance and from that compassion, and my concern is for women out there who can’t speak English. “There are others who may be going through the same emotional and physically draining upsets that I have and don’t have the strength that I have to fight. I’m very privileged because of where I come from and because of the support of my family. Also, the general community support and encouragement I have received has been phenomenal. I feel that I could offer so much to other women in similar situations because of my own experience.” The long struggle has been worth the effort and the final outcome has also been a positive one for Naomi and her children. “Two weeks ago we finally won our case, and it’s the first case in the history of British Columbia for a mother in my situation to leave British Columbia with her children.” Now she awaits the children’s birth certificates to be sent from the United States because she explains, “my husband took possession of those when we arrived here, actually all of our important papers, and he has obviously refused to give them back. So what I have had to do is literally reapply for all the paperwork, and we can’t leave the country until we have these papers.” A woman of very strong character, Naomi Daly gives full credit to her parents for her inner strength. She said, “I have a great faith and it comes from my children, my friends, and also a sense of humour which has helped me through this ordeal. “My mother was a woman of great strength and character, and she raised nine of us. My father was the calmer side, he would sit back and look at the situation, very spiritual, and definitely the balance between my two parents. They have been a great influence in how I raise my children and basically how I deal with everyday life, and I just thank them so much for that.” The toll for all the tension and uncertainty over the past three-and-a-half years has been a high price for Naomi – her health. She says, “I had no idea what was happening on Easter Saturday morning but by 7 PM that evening I thought I was having a stroke. “I started swaying, my whole left side went numb, I couldn’t stand up and kept falling over and my speech was slurring. The neighbours got me to the emergency and after several tests, an MRI and CAT scan, the results are almost 99 percent sure that it looks like multiple sclerosis (MS).” Now, she must face another uncertain future. She said, “It’s breaking my heart to leave Canada, but you know it’s another challenge. I haven’t lived in Dublin for 12 years and I will have to start from scratch. I have to sell what I own here to raise funds for the airline tickets and to have some money for when we get there. “I’ve managed to survive in the States and I’ve managed to do it in Canada through the great help of many people, which I’d like to take this opportunity to thank from the bottom of my heart because we couldn’t have done it without them. Things have changed in Ireland, but if I can’t make it in my own country, then I don’t know what to say.” * [N.B. Naomi Daly still needs financial assistance to arrange her departure from Canada. If you can help in any way, please call her at (604) 988-5655 or at (604) 987-0776.]
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