
Failing to properly vet newcomers will hinder social cohesion
I came to Canada as a political refugee. In my home country of Iran, I was arrested, tortured and later received a prison sentence for my student-organizing activities. I had a month to surrender to prison. Instead, I decided to leave the country with the help of a smuggler. I escaped through the mountains, partly on horseback, to Turkey, where I applied for asylum through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
