TORONTO – A Romanian couple who died with their Canadian-born children while fleeing a deportation order were commemorated at a ceremony in Toronto where community leaders described their fate as devastating.
Florin Iordache, his wife Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, their two-year-old daughter Evelin and their one-year-old son Elyen were among eight people found dead in a river in Quebec’s Akwesasne-Mohawk Territory in late March.
Dozens of community members and staff at the TAIBU Community Health Center, where the Iordaches family received medical care in east Toronto, gathered for a memorial ceremony on Thursday.
Michael T. Butch, president of the Toronto Roma Community Centre, says the deaths of the Iordaches were devastating, especially because it happened just days before International Roma Day, April 8.
He says the Iordaches faced discrimination in their native Romania and sought refuge in Canada, where they hoped to raise their children.
Mr. Butch believes that parents of children born on Canadian soil should be able to remain in the country and be spared the risk of deportation.
Award-winning entrepreneur. Baconaholic. Food advocate. Wannabe beer maven. Twitter ninja.
