Kurdish refugee who came to Canada in 2006 survived turmoil that marked him for life
By MAX HARROLD, The Gazette January 11, 2012

All refugees are fleeing some threat of danger, but the safe haven Canada offered Farshad Mohammadi ultimately did not shelter him from the demons of his native Iran, his lawyer says.

Before the homeless Mohammadi, 34, was shot and killed by police last Friday in the Bonaventure métro after he attacked an officer with an X-acto knife, he had survived turmoil in the Kurdish region of Iran that marked him for life. What that was exactly, his immigration lawyer, Arash Banakar, does not know. But Mohammadi was paranoid about authority figures, he said.

After coming to Canada in 2006 as a refugee sponsored by the Canadian government, Mohammadi was confronted with legal and bureaucratic hurdles in Canada's justice and immigration systems. They are challenges some refugees may find confusing and anxietyproducing, immigration experts said on Tuesday. For some, the hurdles can even trigger flashbacks of torture.


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