Canadian authorities have granted asylum to Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, two Ghanaian immigrants who lost their fingers to severe frostbite while crossing from the U.S. border on foot.
Iyal, 35, crossed in to Canada from the United States with Mohammed, 24, on Christmas Eve, after trekking for hours in freezing conditions.
According to Huff Post, the pair are among the first in the recent wave of asylum seekers pouring in to Canada from the United States out of fear of being deported back to their home countries.
The two men first met at a bus station in Minneapolis that was traveling to North Dakota. Afterward, they boarded a taxi that dropped them just within sight of the border.
On their way to Canada, the men braved extreme conditions, marching through open fields with sheets of snow as high as their waists.
Neither of them were dressed for the sub-zero temperatures of the Canadian winter, so they suffered from severe frostbite. After hours of trekking, they eventually stumbled upon a highway, where a kind truck driver stopped to help them.
They would spend the following weeks recovering in the hospital, with Iyal losing all of his fingers except for his thumbs to frostbite and Mohammed having all of his fingers amputated.
“I can do a lot of things that people who have fingers can do,’’ said Iyal who is still very optimistic about the future.
Mohammed, who is bisexual, later told Canadian immigration officials he fled his native Ghana to escape persecution over his sexual orientation. Iyal, on the other hand, said he fled his home country because his five siblings and a local politician were out to kill him over a property dispute.
Both Iyal and Mohammed were previously denied asylum by U.S. authorities.
“If I go back to Ghana, I might lose all my life. But here I am, I just lost my fingers, but I’m still part of the society.
“I thank God that I’ve been accepted to stay in Canada, to be a Canadian. And what I have in me, I’ll make sure I share it with the community, with the people,’’ Iyal said after his refugee application was granted.
He said he also dreams of bringing his wife to join him in Canada and opening an electronics business similar to the one he had in Ghana.
Mohammed, who plays professional soccer, had his claim for asylum approved last month.
The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…
Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…
Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…
Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…
A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…
Ghana’s Asante king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has unveiled the long-lost treasure of the kingdom…
Deion Sanders is a retired American professional football and baseball player who currently coaches at…
Tiger Woods is set to receive $100 million from PGA Tour Enterprises for his loyalty,…
Jalen Hurts, the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback, has shown his affection for the community by contributing…
It appears Shaquille O'Neal is willing to go all the way out to pamper his…
A U.S. Army Major faces up to 240 months in prison after he was found…
In her first interview about her conviction in Russia on drug smuggling charges, WNBA star…
The beloved host of This Morning, Alison Hammond, is making headlines by selling off her…
Two high school students in Grand Rapids, Michigan, have earned a place in history. The…
Derek Floyd, a 36-year-old Fire Department of New York probationary fireman, died of a heart…