Woman wins ruling on visa
A 79-year-old Sri Lankan grandmother won an 11th-hour reprieve from deportation so she can continue to help her daughter and family devastated by the murder of her 16-year-old grandson in Brampton.
"Mrs. Watte-Liyanage has been so important for the emotional welfare of her Canadian family, holding them together as they grieve the tragic death of her grandson," said Alykhan Velshi, a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
"I can only imagine the stress and heartbreak it would cause for her to return home while her permanent residency application is processed. In light of these extraordinary circumstances, the minister is issuing a temporary resident permit, which will allow her to remain in Canada while her ... application is being processed."
Upendra Perera Watte-Liyanage came to Canada on a temporary visa shortly after her grandson, Akila Geegana Badhanage, an honour student and athlete at North Park Secondary School, was swarmed and stabbed to death Sept. 28, 2007. He was walking to his after-school job at a coffee shop near Bramalea City Centre.
Four young men charged with first-degree murder will stand trial in May.
"It was an unprovoked attack on an innocent, vulnerable lone person," Peel homicide Insp. Norm English told the Star at the time.
"This family is in ruins," said psychologist Leslie Balmer in a plea to Citizenship and Immigration Canada one month ago, after Watte-Liyanage was told her temporary visa would end Jan. 13 and she would be deported.
Watte-Liyanage not only runs the household, she cares for Yasiru, 15, and Lakshan, 10, who are "terrified at going out alone" because of the random attack on their brother.
Balmer, who has been treating the family since the killing, had received no response to her plea until yesterday when Velshi said the case first came to Kenney's attention.
Since the death of her eldest son, Indra Yaddehige had to quit her two jobs, said Balmer.
"Indra had been like a dynamo. She was very athletic, she would go running with her boys. She held down two jobs and cooked and cleaned. Now she is barely able to hold a knife."
Akila's father, Nihal Geegana Badhanage, lost one job because, said Balmer, he's unable to concentrate. He found another recently but is haunted by his son's killing.
"This is very helpful because my wife is not in good health," Badhanage said yesterday. "I am just managing to work."
The man who brought his family to Canada in 2002 to escape the violence in Sri Lanka said of his dead son: "He was an outstanding boy, an outstanding person."
Watte-Liyanage had applied to immigrate to Canada before her grandson was killed. A plea in December 2007 to speed up her permanent resident application was answered with a letter offering sympathy but saying, "We are unable to prioritize. ... Many sponsors face compelling situations."
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