Wednesday September 2, 2020
By Nicole Munro
Abdoul, left, and Fatouma Abdi are suing the Nova Scotia government and the Children's Aid Society for not protecting them from alleged physical, sexual and psychological abuse while under their care. - Contributed
HALIFAX, N.S. — Siblings who were placed into the care of the Children’s Aid Society in Halifax after moving from Somalia are suing the organization and Nova Scotia government for “significant physical, sexual and psychological abuse.”
Fatouma and Abdoul Abdi were taken from their family by the Children’s Aid Society in December 2001, shortly after arriving in Nova Scotia, and would remain under their care permanently.
Several years later, they were both placed in foster care with a Somali family.
In a news release issued by the Elizabeth Fry Society on Wednesday morning, the Abdis say while under the care of the Children’s Aid Society, it failed to provide an environment free from abuse or preserve their cultural, racial and linguistic heritage.
The siblings also alleged they were physically, sexually and psychologically abused, which they disclosed to various staff and social workers, but “nothing was done to protect them or keep them safe.”
In an interview in 2017, Abdoul told The Chronicle Herald the foster family “was the most traumatic in my memories of being in care. The group homes, they had their bad, but that was definitely the worst.”
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Mike Dull, the lawyer representing Fatouma and Abdi, said Fatouma and Abdi experienced “the opposite of safety and security” when they sought refuge in Nova Scotia.
“The experiences of Fatouma and Abdoul as children in the Nova Scotia care system are shocking and disappointing,” Dull said. “They deserved much better when, as young children, the government forcibly removed them from their loving family.”
In 2017 and 2018, Abdoul was facing deportation to Somali, but both orders were overturned by the federal court.
Fatouma said her and her brother filed the lawsuit to shed light on “how they run the system and what they did to the other kids.”
“I hope this forces them to change. But for me, I don’t think it will ever bring me justice because it doesn’t take away what Abdoul and I went through, nor does it take away what my children
went through,” Fatouma said.
“I don’t think it will ever truly bring justice, but it’s a start.”