Second update on future Russian guest who had to flee Russia after protesting war

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Here is an e-mail from this guest I opened this morning:

Flew to Toronto at 20 P.M, all is well. Upon arrival, applied for asylum with the CBSA [Canadian Border Services Agency]. It took 5 hours. received a referral for a medical examination and I need to fill out 5 forms and submit them to the CBSA, then a second interview will be scheduled.

CBSA took all my documents away from me, so now I am without documents, the card at the hotel did not work, I paid in cash, which we still have. it’s 5 am and we finally go to bed.

The “card” refers to a new, non-Russian credit card he was issued at a bank in the Republic of Georgia, where he opened a new bank account while staying for a couple of weeks en-route to Canada. He is travelling with his wife and his two daughters, ages 8 and 4.

UPDATE
I have just had a discussion started in one of my earlier threads about this family with a host who wants to help out. They are staying at the Airport Marriott in Toronto, and anyone who has Marriott Reward Points might be able to contribute to their stay there. Direct message me if you want to try this and need details.

In the meantime, here is a link to an article I wrote for the DailyKos news blofgdescribing the circumstances that led to them having to flee the country with the Russian anti-protester police nipping at their heels.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/3/14/2085951/-Russian-family-flees-country-after-cops-come-to-door-collecting-evidence-on-their-anti-war-pickets

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Thanks for the update. Scary.

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Good to know that they made it. I hope that they can get access to that account, if only to transfer the funds to a Canadian bank.

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I saw that. Perhaps you can start a gofundme account for them and we can donate? I’d donate my $100 voucher towards an ABB stay, but I already gave it to a host in Ukraine, who was thrilled by all the kindness from international hosts and scared spitless at the same time. So sad.

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Have you put them in touch with local refugee charities?

Not sure how the refugee system works in Canada but why do they need to stay at a Marriott Hotel on arrival ?

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They made a reservation to stay at Marriott before they left Europe.

They were released by the immigration officials at the Airport at 3:00am, and – with two young children who had been up for more than 24 hours – were grateful that bed was just five minutes away at an airport hotel.

Now that their request for asylum is pending they need permission to change location, which they will arrange next week. Fortunately they had enough cash (us$) to keep a roof over their heads for a few weeks, so they are much better off than most political refugees – but it is a diminishing asset, and they are strictly not authorized to work at this point.

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