Post
by Quantum » Mon Jun 20, 2005 3:24 pm
I'm sorry, Needhelp, if what I said sounded like criticism. This was not the intent. I thought I was just stating hard facts and trying to bring you around.
I think we have a cultural difference here. You feel that love should trump all, and that the law should respect that. But Western law is not negotiable. You have to consider it a mathematical construct; a concrete edifice. In other words, your friends must bend to the laws which Canadians have chosen, or else choose another country. It is a hard reality, but this is the way things truly are. I myself, as an American of Swedish descent, may not be eligible to get PR in Canada, no matter how much I try. You do not know how lucky her parents are; not many countries welcome Muslims these days, as your clerics do not speak out against terrorism as they should. I'm just sayin' facts.
Further you must understand that if she emigrates to Canada, and it is found by authorities that her parents knew of her marriage, they will ALL be jailed and deported back to Pakistan, period. They may all be deported even if her parents did *not* know about the marriage, because they should have known. Don't you think her parents would kill both of them, then? It is a serious violation of Canadian immigration law for her to move there married.
OK, if I'm understanding you, it is not possible for her to divorce in Pakistan. Since we do not know your country and its customs well, the only option we can offer is that she and her husband must apply to Canada on their own merit, or they must stay.
She understandably has chosen love. And she understandably wanted to make her own choice of husband. And she probably wasn't aware of the terrible ramifications. What really happened here is that your ancient cultural practices and beliefs have forced them into this situation. If she had waited to get married, she could have potentially sponsored her desired husband to Canada in a couple of years, but her hand was forced by this arranged marriage.
Really, we are doing the best we can to help. But advanced Western governments are simply operated on a mathematical basis. (except the USA these days, with the Bush administration)
I hope someone here can offer better advice than I've been able to. I may be completely wrong.