Eight members of the Aloysius household, a Nigeria-based family who just lost two of their children in an auto crash in Manitoba, Canada, have been denied emergency visitor visas to attend their funeral by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the reason the IRCC gave for denying the family members visas was “insufficient proof that they would leave the country after the funeral”.
The funeral for Precious and Christabel Aloysius, the children who lost their lives in the accident, will be held in the third week of December.
The siblings were travelling with Miracle, their older sister, on September 1, to drop off Christabel at the University of Manitoba‘s nursing school campus for what was supposed to be the start of her final year of classes when the accident happened.
The driver was said to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll over. In the process, Precious and Christabel, who were in the back seat, were ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Of all the deceased siblings’ family members, only their parents have been granted emergency visas.
“We lost two lives and we need at least two other family members to accompany them (the parents) to Winnipeg because it is not easy for them,” Michael Modes, cousin and caregiver to the deceased siblings, said.
“This is really hard. They have been traumatised.”
Among the family members denied visas was Precious and Christabel’s elder brother who last saw them 12 years ago.
The family has voiced concerns about the grieving parents, who will be going to Canada alone to say their last goodbyes to their children without a “strong emotional family support”.
The siblings had moved to Canada many years ago to receive a better post-secondary education abroad that could have set them up for a better life.
