Abigail Slater Morry Guttman and Office for Refugees at Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto

Kim Beckman: Last spring, she felt she had won the lottery when she was selected for resettlement to Canada by the Office for Refugees at the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, and by Canadian sponsors Kim Beckman, her husband, George Popper, and their friends, Abigail Slater and Morry Guttman — total strangers to her at the time, according to Toronto Star. But that dream was dashed when the Canadian visa office in Accra rejected Gnonsio application, saying information she provided at her interview was inconsistent with details in her refugee claim and sponsorship application. That was the day she says she was gang-raped by pro-president thugs in her native Ivory Coast, a brutal attack that left her with HIV. After fleeing to Ghana with her family, the young woman has waited anxiously at a United Nations refugee camp, hoping for a fresh start in a new country while coping with her illness and deteriorating vision. She is already a part of our family, and it made me heartsick to know that she would have to endure more difficult weeks and months in the refugee camp while we attempted to have her application reconsidered, said Beckman. Beckman, a lawyer, and Popper, an architect — whom Gnonsio, 29, calls Mother Kim and Father George — said visa post officials overlooked the young woman emotional and physical vulnerability at the interview — and the possibility details had been miscommunicated through an interpreter in Gnonsio first language, French. I felt totally helpless, and it is very difficult to remain hopeful and positive. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.