2023 RLLR 243
Citation: 2023 RLLR 243
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: November 27, 2023
Panel: Eron Igbinoba
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Jeffrey L Goldman
Country: Albania
RPD Number: TC3-21885
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2024-01360
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: These are the reasons for the decision in the claim of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, the claimant, who is a citizen of Albania and is claiming refugee protection pursuant to section 96 and subsection 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. I have carefully considered and applied the Chairperson’s Guideline 9: Proceedings Before the IRB Involving Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Characteristics, SOGIESC, in reaching my determination.
[2] The details of your allegations are fully set out in your Basis of Claim form found in Exhibit 2. In summary, you allege a fear of persecution at the hands of your cousin and your ex-lover’s family due to your relationship with your ex-lover, SS (ph), as well as your sexual orientation as a bisexual man. You also fear the persecution of Albanian society in general due to your sexual orientation.
[3] I find that you have established on a balance of probabilities that you face a serious possibility of persecution because of your membership to a particular social group being a bisexual man if you were to return to Albania. Therefore, I find that you are a Convention refugee under section 96 of the IRPA.
[4] With respect to your identity, you came into Canada with a fraudulent passport which contained a different identity. However, based on your oral testimony, a certified copy of your passport, your family certificate contained Exhibits 10, I find that you have established your identity on a balance of probabilities through these items found in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 10 as well as your birth certificate in Exhibit 10.
[5] I find that there is a link between the harm you fear and one (1) of the Convention grounds, namely membership to a particular social group as a bisexual man. The claim has therefore been assessed under section 96 of IRPA.
[6] In terms of your general credibility, overall I find your testimony to be consistent and credible. You provided spontaneous, detailed, and straightforward testimony in addition to reliable documentation to support your claim. You were able to provide specific details relating to the relevant aspects of your claim. There were no inconsistencies, omissions, or contradictions in your testimony. I find you to be trustworthy and credible, and therefore I accept the following facts about your claim.
[7] You testified that you are a bisexual man and that you realized your sexuality at the age of 14, that you were attracted to men, for which you told your mother about it. You testified that your mother advised you to forget about your attraction with men and focus on girls. So, you tried dating girls, but the feeling was not like how you felt for boys. You testified about having opposite-sex relationships which did not last long because of your feeling for the same sex. You testified about your first relationship with J (ph) which started in 2011. You stated how you met in school, became friends, and then evolved to become partners. You testified that other students — or you stated how other students picked on you and J and called you names. You testified that your relationship with J ended when he relocated to join his family in the United States.
[8] You testified that you worked with XXXX XXXX XXXX in 2014 as an XXXX XXXX. You testified that towards the XXXX of 2017, SS joined the XXXX and soon after you both started dating. You testified that in XXXX 2018, SS’s family found some discreet pictures of the both of you on his phone. You stated that SS called you to inform you that his family would kill the both of you if they saw you together, and they also prohibited him from working in XXXX. You testified that you and SS stopped seeing each other.
[9] You stated in your narrative that in XXXX 2019, the head of XXXX XXXX advised you to stop working with the XXXX because they were informed of your sexual orientation and would not want you to continue working there with underage boys. You testified that due to this you gradually went into a XXXX and started taking alcohol. You stated that your mother advised you to see a doctor, for which you did, and you were placed on medication.
[10] You testified that in XXXX 2019, SS reached out to you and you both started dating again. You stated that in XXXX 2022, you and SS planned to spend some time in a hotel, but due to an unavailability of rooms, you decided to make out in the car. You testified that while you were both in the car, four (4) men from SS’s family broke the window of your car and started beating the both of you. You stated that some passerby threatened to call the police on your attackers, for which they stopped beating you and left with SS. You testified that you were taken to the hospital for treatment, and your mother went to report SS to the police, but they informed her that there was no protection for people like you, and she should be ashamed to have raised a child such as you.
[11] You testified that sometime later, your cousin confronted you at home and beat you for being a homosexual, and he promised to kill you. You testified that you were receiving treatment from home. Your mother brought a doctor to tend to your injuries at home. You stated that your mother took you to Tirana, where you were seeing a XXXX, and due to your — which was due to your deteriorating health condition. Following that, your mother made arrangements to send you out of Albania.
[12] In support of your testimony, you provided documentary evidence which can be found in Exhibit 9 and 10 which include medical note from the XXXX who treated you in Tirana, hospital release form and prescription for the injury you sustained from the attack by SS’s family, attestation from the doctor who treated you at home in XXXX 2021, certificates — sorry, XXXX 2022, certificates of ownership of road vehicle and photos of your vehicle that the window got broken by SS’s family, letter from XXXX confirming that you worked for the organization as a volunteer from 2014 to 2019, letter of support from SS confirming your relationship and the challenges you both faced due to your relationship as well as photos of you and SS. I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of these documents as they corroborate your testimony of being persecuted in Albania due to your sexual orientation and relationship. I therefore accord significant weight to the corroborating evidence.
[13] You testified that since you arrive — Canada, you have not been able to keep a steady relationship because you suffer from XXXX. You testified about the causal relationship you had with TA (ph) which ended because you were not focused in the relationship. You also testified about your activities in the LGBTQ community, such as your membership to the XXXX as well as meetings with — the XXXX XXXX event meetings that usually hold (sic) twice a week. In support of your testimony, you provided documentary evidence also contained in Exhibit 9 and 10 which include affidavit of support and photos from — photos of you and TA where TA confirm your casual relationship, affidavit from your sister confirming your inability to keep a steady relationship due to your XXXX XXXX, membership letter from XXXX, confirmation of attendance of XXXX XXXX meeting, XXXX assessment reports, and photos of you during the Pride Parade of 2023. I accord weight to the evidence as it corroborates your testimony that you have been able — you have not been able to maintain a stable relationship due to your health, as well as your activities in the LGBTQ community in Canada.
[14] I find that you have established on a balance of probabilities that you would be subjected to discrimination, attack — and attack because of your sexual orientation. Your evidence and testimony establish that you have the requisite subjective fear on account of your sexual orientation. Accordingly, I find that you have established on a balance of probabilities that you are a bisexual man and have established a subjective fear of persecution based on your sexual orientation as a bisexual man who fears persecution from his extended family, his ex-lover’s family, and the society at large in Albania and would face physical violence and possibly death should you return to Albania. I find that you have established on a balance of probabilities your subjective fear of persecution and harm in Albania due to your sexual orientation.
Objective Basis
[15] The country condition in the National Documentation Package for Albania found in Exhibit 3 supports your allegations. Item 6.3 at page 16 indicates that in Albania, rigid gender stereotypes and cultural expectations mean that men and women are expected to conform to rather inflexible ideas of masculinity and femininity in their behaviour and appearance. It states that deviation from these binary gender stereotypes are strongly discouraged and considered by some to be morally wrong. As a patriarchal (mispronouncing) society, there are high levels of social disapproval for any form of sexuality falling outside the heterosexual norm.
[16] The same objective evidence at pages 20 and 21 confirm that the parents of LGBTQ people tend to keep their children’s secret in order not to lose their honour, and they often foster children to suppress their LGBTQ identity. It says that physical violence is considered to be an effective form of discipline and is pervasive. Fathers are especially likely to use violence against their LGBTQ children, while mothers are more likely to ask their LGBTQ children to change their behaviour. LGBTQ people who have told their parents about their SOGIESC have in some cases been beaten and abandoned. One (1) in three (3) LGBTQ people report that they have been victims of domestic violence. The evidence at Item 6.3 at paragraph 5.5.1 confirms that in the most — the most problem violence against LGBTQ are caused in the family. At 5.5.4, it states that cases of domestic violence are very common, including psychological violence from parents who felt that their children might be gay or lesbian, and physical violence because of their family have found out that they were LGBTQ. An article (inaudible) — okay. So, based on the evidence, I find on a balance of probabilities that your subjective fear has an objective basis and it is well-founded.
[17] With respect to state protection, the UN Development Programme article also confirm that although Albania has laws on the books prohibiting discrimination or violence against LGBTQ people, these regulations are not enforced. Public officers make (inaudible) — make fun of the — make some sort of homophobic statement against gays and lesbians in Albania. For instance, the claimant’s mother who reported the attack on the claimant to the police seeking for protection was told that the police would — that there was no protection available to people like the claimant, as well as also ridiculing her to be ashamed to have raised a child like that. Given the country’s condition, I find on a balance of probabilities that you would not receive adequate state protection in Albania. Therefore, the presumption of state protection is rebutted.
[18] With respect to internal flight alternative, the National Documentation Package at Exhibit 3, Item 6.3 at 4.6 states that there is no safe place where LGBTQ people know that they can be free from fear of violence and abuse. You can only possibly remain unharmed in another part of Albania if you were to keep your location secret from family members and refrain from expressing or living out your sexual orientation. It is well stated that internal (inaudible) will not be an option if it happens on the person concealing their sexual orientation in the proposed new location for fear of persecution. I therefore find on a balance of probabilities that there is no viable internal flight alternative for you.
[19] In conclusion, based on the evidence before me and through your testimony, I conclude that you have established a serious possibility of persecution on the Convention ground of your membership to a particular social group if you were to return to Albania. I therefore find that you are a Convention refugee pursuant to section 96 of the IRPA, and your claim is accepted.
——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———