Asylum seeker reunites with RCMP officer he says saved his life

A month after a near-fataltrek through the forest intoCanada, an asylum seekerwas reunited today with the man he says saved his life: RCMPConst.Bernard Vandal.

Vandal found the 45-year-old man on the side of the road in Quebecnear the Canada-U.S. borderon March 5, after he had walked for hours when the temperature reached 15 C.

Mamadou, whose family name is being withheld for his safety, suffered from hypothermia and frostbite, Vandal said, and spenta week in hospital recovering from the ordeal.

On Thursday, the pair met again andshared a hug and relived the drama of that night.

"Thank you for saving my life," Mamadoutold Vandal when they met.

• Asylum seeker's future in limbo after near-fatal border crossing in Quebec

Asylum seeker Mamadou reunites with the RCMP officer who helped save his life

8 years ago

Duration 0:25

Mamadou suffered from hypothermia and frostbite after walking for hours to cross the Canada-U.S. border on March 5.

The meeting took place at the RCMP's Montreal headquarters, at an event arranged by the Mounties.

An RCMP spokesperson said the police service decided to organize the reunion after learning that Mamadou wanted to meet the officer who saved him.

Life and death

Vandal said he came across Mamadou by chancewhile on night patrol.

He recalled how, when he spotted Mamadoustanding by a fence near Lacolle, Que.,on the side of the road, the Ivorian manhad trouble speaking and could barely move his legs, which were like a "block of ice."

Vandal said it quickly became clear Mamadou needed emergency medical care. Vandal said he's convinced that if he hadn't found him, Mamadouwould have died.

One of theRCMP officers to arrive at the scene was Const.Richer Dubuc, a trained paramedic, whoVandal said helped to treat Mamadou before he was taken to hospital.

Dubuc died a day later in an unrelated accident,when hisRCMP squad car collided with a farm tractor. Vandal presented Mamadou with a photo of Dubuc.

"The moral of the story is that life is short, and when we can save a life, we will," Vandal said.

U.S. border pact flawed, critics say

Mamadou's casehas attracted the attention of lawyers and human rights activists, who say it points to problems with the Canada-U.S. border pact.

A day before crossing the border illegally, Mamadou tried to make a refugee claim at an official port of entry into Quebec but was refused.

• Near-fatal border crossing in Quebec prompts calls for immigration reform

Under the 2004 Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, asylum seekers who have landed in either the U.S. or Canada may not seek refuge in the other country at official entry points.

They can still, however, make a refugee claim aftercrossing illegally as an increasing number have done in recent months but only if they haven't tried at a legal crossingfirst.

For that reason, Mamadou is not eligible for refugee status in Canada.

Future in Canada uncertain

For now, Mamadou is living at the YMCA residence in Westmount, near downtown Montreal, where many asylum seekers stay when they first arrive in Quebec.

He was released on conditionsfrom the Laval, Que.,detention centre late last month.

His lawyer, ric Taillefer, is considering challenging the Safe Third Country Agreementin Federal Court, as a way to keep his client in Canada.

Mamadousaid he left New York City, his home for the past 10 years, afterimmigration officers came looking for him in his Bronx apartment.

He had been living with uncertain legal status in the U.S.after fleeing Ivory Coast, where he saidhe witnessed rebels fatally shoothis father, a prominent businessman in Abidjan.

He saidhe fears he will be killed if he is forced to return to his home country.

He is hoping to work as a taxi driver if he finds a way to make a refugee claim and is allowed to stay.

• Crossing the border: why are so many asylum seekers coming to Canada?
• IN DEPTH:Mamadou'snightmare: One man's brush with death crossing the border