Volunteers are caring for quadriplegic refugee claimant Laibar Singh 24 hours a day, but it is unclear how many of them have formal medical training, despite his supporters' assertions that he needs access to Canada's top-notch medical care.
Harjap Grewal, a spokesman for Mr. Singh and refugee advocate with No One is Illegal, said in an interview that hundreds have volunteered to care for Mr. Singh since an aneurysm left him paralyzed, but he did not provide specific numbers of formally trained people who have been tending to him.
He said that a maximum of 10 people with training as nurses or doctors have volunteered to care for Mr. Singh, but that most volunteers are not health-care professionals. They have been helping him with needs such as hygiene and going to the bathroom that he cannot handle himself.
Mr. Grewal added that Mr. Singh would not receive the treatment he needs in India because neither he nor his children can afford to pay for it.
"A lot of people have the means to make sure that he gets that care here," he said.
Harsha Walia, also with No One is Illegal, said that money for Mr. Singh's care has come through community donations. For example, Maninder Gill, owner of Radio India, has donated $5,000 toward his care.
When asked why such donations could not be used to pay for private health care in India, Mr. Singh's home country, Ms. Walia said his case is a "simple issue of justice and humanity."
"If that argument were to be made that everyone here that's in need of care just raised money and went somewhere else, it defies a basic value of human dignity," she said. "His wish is that he feels safe here. He chooses to be with his community here."
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"His condition just deteriorates rapidly every time he's put through this game that the government's playing...................................."
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