Linda Nguyen, CanWest News Service; Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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VANCOUVER – A former B.C. cabinet minister has volunteered to be part of a medical team looking after a severely paralyzed man avoiding deportation by seeking sanctuary in an Abbotsford Sikh temple.
Dr. Gulzar Cheema said 48-year-old Laibar Singh was in “good spirits” Monday.
“He’s in reasonably good shape. He’s able to speak to me clearly even though I’m sure he’s under a lot of stress,” Cheema said.
Singh was to be deported back to India on Sunday. He was taken to the temple Friday afternoon from a Vancouver residential medical facility for disabled adults.
Singh became paralyzed last year after suffering an aneurysm.
He came to Canada in 2003 using false documents and said he had been accused of being involved with a Sikh Commando Force. His applications for refugee status have all been turned down.
“I’ve taken on this responsibility and am here on compassionate grounds,” Cheema said. “There’s so much going on with him right now that this is the best way that I can help him.”
Singh requires someone to spoon-feed him, shower him and take him to the bathroom a few times a day. He also needs to be turned every two hours to avoid bed sores, Cheema said.
“We’re going to need the assistance of a full-time nurse or aide for sure. Someone to check on him on a regular basis,” he said. “We’ll also need a team of medical professionals, including a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist.”
There are no estimates yet on how much the treatments and services will cost.
The temple is relying on donations from the community to foot the expenses.
Parveen Gill, 29, daughter of the Abbotsford temple’s president, said they’ve had an outpouring of gifts, donations and offers of help from the Sikh community.
“It’s just amazing how many people are coming forward to help out with time and money,” the second-year nursing student said.
“It’s definitely a lot of work because we have no lift, no medical equipment. We’re relying solely on manpower,” she said.
The B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities is still campaigning for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day to intervene and allow Singh to stay in the country.
“I can’t think of a better definition of letting someone stay on humanitarian grounds than Mr. Singh,” spokeswoman Margaret Birrell said. “We’re hopeful that the government will do the right thing.”
Mark Paradis from the minister’s office said no comment has been released.
Gill said Singh is also hopeful.
“He’s not losing hope. That’s the other difference we see in him,” she said. “He’s smiling a bit more because he does see that things might get better.”
Vancouver Sun
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© CanWest News Service 2007
