One woman's passport crisis a red flag for many

Francis2004

Subjective Poster
Nov 18, 2008
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One woman's passport crisis a red flag for many


The bizarre story of Suaad Hagi Mohamud's passport-related, mid-summer identity crisis prompted Canadians to write to Ottawa about the issue, some expressing their concern that they could find themselves in the same boat in future.

It all began on May 21, when Mohamud tried to board a flight home to Toronto at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. When she was told that her picture didn't match her passport, the confusion only got worse.

After an investigation by Canadian consular staff, her passport was handed over to Kenyan authorities for prosecution. She then spent weeks fighting to clear her name, eventually proving through a DNA test that she was the mother of her Toronto son.

Nearly three months after her ordeal began, Mohamud finally made it home. She promptly filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking more than $2 million in damages in a case that is still before the courts.

Through the Access to Information Act, CTV.ca recently obtained copies of about 50 letters and emails sent to Foreign Affairs and the Canada Border Services Agency this past summer. They reveal public concern that the same type of dilemma could afflict other Canadians, especially when a small photo on a passport can become a big problem.

A Canadian who traveled to Croatia few years ago, found "some disagreement with the Croatian border guards with regards to the difference of appearance between myself and my passport photo," according to a Aug. 12 email addressed to Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan. While the dispute was solved easily, the letter-writer was "glad" to have avoided consular involvement after "witnessing what Ms. Mohamud has been through."

The offspring of a Canadian Army veteran lived in Kenya "for many years" and claimed to be exactly familiar with "the routine at Kenyan airports":

"The routine is that Kenyan officials will find some imaginary irregularity in your papers or the contents of your suitcase and pull you into a back room. Negotiations commence and you end up paying, preferably in US dollars, for the official to let you through," the army brat wrote to CBSA. "I know this and everyone who travels to Kenya know this -- and certainly any official who works at the High Commission in Nairobi knows this."

Some wrote to the government about more practical concerns when travelling -- alternate means of proving one's identity in the wake of the Mohamud mix-up, and how to keep a passport in good condition.

CTV News | One woman's passport crisis a red flag for many

The point of this article is that your Canadian Passport is not going to safely get you home from many countries.. Don't count on going to many of these places and have your passport as a safe way home..
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
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Best not to go to places like that and then you won't have a problem.
There was also one in the news a while ago where it turned out the woman involved was using her sisters passport
 

bobnoorduyn

Council Member
Nov 26, 2008
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Mountain Veiw County
What was not reported was that she failed to correctly or satisfactorily answer questions asked by customs officials. I can't remember all of them now, but like, "what is your son's birthday?", "what is the capital of Canada". Basically things you should know the answers to if you are who you say you are. This isn't uncommon as my daughter was asked when entering Finland from Russia, "What is a dollar coin called?", "What is a two dollar coin called?". I too have been blindsided by customs officials entering the US. I'm sure they know you don't expect the question but they can be pretty adept at picking out frauds. Some people can get themselves into a world of hurt by their own doing.
 

Trex

Electoral Member
Apr 4, 2007
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Hither and yon
One woman's passport crisis a red flag for many




CTV News | One woman's passport crisis a red flag for many

The point of this article is that your Canadian Passport is not going to safely get you home from many countries.. Don't count on going to many of these places and have your passport as a safe way home..

That has nothing to with this particular case.

The bottom line with this case is games were being played.
Canadian security officials are not quite sure what exactly this woman was trying to do but it appears that she was "testing" Canadian border services and security while travelling.
It is still unknown if her friends, cousins or other Muslim persons were pretending to be her or travelling on her passport in Africa or even if Canada.
The bottom line is she was screened and caught by African officials as being a bit dodgy, passport wise.
Canadian immigration officials questioned her or persons ( the burka thing was going on randomly and unpredictably) who claimed to be her several times in Africa.
She was supposedly a Canadian citizen who had lived in Toronto for years and years.
I don't remember if she lived in Toronto for 10 years or 20 years someone else can look it up.

She did not know where her son was born (Canada was the answer).
She did not know what hospital or city he was born in.
She did not know how old her children were.
She did not know what city she had lived in for 15 or so years (Toronto).
She did not know where or what Ontario was.
She had worked at the same company in Toronto for 10 or 15 years and she did not know the name of the company, where it was or what her job at the company was.
She had taken the Toronto Transit System to work for 10 or 15 years and she did not know what the Toronto Transit system was, where it was, what any of the stops where or where she got on or off.

Sound a bit iffy to you?
Senior Canadian Immigration officials who interviewed some person who claimed to be the Canadian in question sure thought so.

DNA finally proved that someone in Africa with a Canadian passport was indeed the parent of the kid who lived in Toronto.
Between all the people who looked completely different on various security cameras in various countries all travelling on this one Canadian passport.
The burka thing going on in various interviews with who knows who, all one this same Canadian passport.

It all smells very, very dodgy.
This was no amateur hour thing.
There is no trace of a mental or psychological handicap in this issue.
Senior Canadian immigration were interviewing a person or persons in Africa with a Canadian passport who had been picked up and did not match the profile of someone who had ever been to Canada.
A mother who does not remember how old or where her kid was born.
Come on.
And now a law suit.

Canadian Immigration services need to toughen up a bit.
Not everyone who claims to be or wants to be a Canadian has Canada's best interests as a nation at heart.

Trex
 

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
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Ottawa, ON
What was not reported was that she failed to correctly or satisfactorily answer questions asked by customs officials. I can't remember all of them now, but like, "what is your son's birthday?", "what is the capital of Canada". Basically things you should know the answers to if you are who you say you are. This isn't uncommon as my daughter was asked when entering Finland from Russia, "What is a dollar coin called?", "What is a two dollar coin called?". I too have been blindsided by customs officials entering the US. I'm sure they know you don't expect the question but they can be pretty adept at picking out frauds. Some people can get themselves into a world of hurt by their own doing.

I remember reading that this was a technique used in WWII too, since some German spies had a perfect mastery of American English pronunciation. They would ask various questions relating to American sports, especially baseball and famous baseball players. A few genuine Americans had to be examined further owing to their lack of knowledge of baseball.

So while the technique is effective, we should ensure it's a reasonable one that all Canadians ought to know and not something one might not know if he doesn't follow sports for example. Asking what Canada's capital is or her son's birthday I think is more than reasonable.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
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Vancouver, BC
I wonder if public reaction to this story would be the same were her last name not “Mohamed”?

Somehow, I very much doubt it. There are already between-the-lines accusations of terrorist conspiracy.
 

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
61
48
Ottawa, ON
That has nothing to with this particular case.

The bottom line with this case is games were being played.
Canadian security officials are not quite sure what exactly this woman was trying to do but it appears that she was "testing" Canadian border services and security while travelling.
It is still unknown if her friends, cousins or other Muslim persons were pretending to be her or travelling on her passport in Africa or even if Canada.
The bottom line is she was screened and caught by African officials as being a bit dodgy, passport wise.
Canadian immigration officials questioned her or persons ( the burka thing was going on randomly and unpredictably) who claimed to be her several times in Africa.
She was supposedly a Canadian citizen who had lived in Toronto for years and years.
I don't remember if she lived in Toronto for 10 years or 20 years someone else can look it up.

She did not know where her son was born (Canada was the answer).
She did not know what hospital or city he was born in.
She did not know how old her children were.
She did not know what city she had lived in for 15 or so years (Toronto).
She did not know where or what Ontario was.
She had worked at the same company in Toronto for 10 or 15 years and she did not know the name of the company, where it was or what her job at the company was.
She had taken the Toronto Transit System to work for 10 or 15 years and she did not know what the Toronto Transit system was, where it was, what any of the stops where or where she got on or off.

Sound a bit iffy to you?
Senior Canadian Immigration officials who interviewed some person who claimed to be the Canadian in question sure thought so.

DNA finally proved that someone in Africa with a Canadian passport was indeed the parent of the kid who lived in Toronto.
Between all the people who looked completely different on various security cameras in various countries all travelling on this one Canadian passport.
The burka thing going on in various interviews with who knows who, all one this same Canadian passport.

It all smells very, very dodgy.
This was no amateur hour thing.
There is no trace of a mental or psychological handicap in this issue.
Senior Canadian immigration were interviewing a person or persons in Africa with a Canadian passport who had been picked up and did not match the profile of someone who had ever been to Canada.
A mother who does not remember how old or where her kid was born.
Come on.
And now a law suit.

Canadian Immigration services need to toughen up a bit.
Not everyone who claims to be or wants to be a Canadian has Canada's best interests as a nation at heart.

Trex

This is hard to believe. Do you have a link for this?
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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I understood that the authorities were suspicious that the woman presenting the passport was actually her sister...and that's why they asked her questions she would normally be able to answer, such as her son's birthdate.
 

Downhome_Woman

Electoral Member
Dec 2, 2008
588
24
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Ontariariario
Best not to go to places like that and then you won't have a problem.
There was also one in the news a while ago where it turned out the woman involved was using her sisters passport
Not so. If it's the case I'm assuming you're referring to, they dcided that she was 'her sister' using her passport, as they decided that her official passport picture didn't look enough like her(even though it has been approved officially). Turns out they were 100% wrong. And if they'd done a DNA test when they should have rather than just assume she wan't the person represented on her passport, they wouldn't be being (and rightly so)sued.
 

Downhome_Woman

Electoral Member
Dec 2, 2008
588
24
18
Ontariariario
I understood that the authorities were suspicious that the woman presenting the passport was actually her sister...and that's why they asked her questions she would normally be able to answer, such as her son's birthdate.[/QUOTE
I also understand that birth date references in her country aren't as cut and dried as they are here. Also, I remember hearing a lot of the questions they asked her to 'confirm' her citizenship. I'm a Canadian born and bred and I've also lived in Toronto - and I couldn't answer some of those questions - and I'm not under any stress!