A refugee claimant who fled from civil war in Ethiopia says she’s exasperated after Canada’s Immigration Department made a silly mistake on her work permit — leaving her still unable to work, study, or get adequate health care as she’s waited more than 16 months for her refugee case to move forward.

Eden Zebene has lived in Ottawa since fleeing Ethiopia in February 2021. The 23-year-old is waiting for her case to be heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada — the final step before becoming a protected person and applying for permanent residency (PR).

“I was very depressed …  because I don’t have anything to do here. I always stay at home. I cannot study or I cannot [work],” she said.

“I want to change myself. My life.”

After 16 months of pleading with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to move her case forward over phone, email, in person, and through her lawyer, Zebene had her eligibility interview in late July — a step claimants need to pass in order to get work and study permits.

Though still without a study permit, she finally got her work permit this month, giving her a glimmer of hope — only to find it expired the same day it was issued: Aug. 6, 2022.

Zebene said her family was subject to brutal attacks in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, and said her family home and business were burned down. She was detained, beaten, insulted, threatened and sexually assaulted by Ethiopian security forces because of her Amharan ethnicity and her perceived political opinion in the past, her submission to IRCC reads.

Now safe in Canada, she dreams of studying computer science at an Ottawa university and working part-time, but without valid permits and a social insurance number she’s unable to.

She’s also pregnant, and had a health scare a few months ago — but was only able to access basic care at a newcomer clinic under her interim federal health coverage, as she waits to be eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

Zebene has attempted several times to contact IRCC to fix its recent mistake on her work permit, to no avail.

Tizazu Yamitu said it’s been difficult watching his wife struggle.

“It was [a] very traumatic experience,” he said. “This bureaucratic process, it had drained her energy and motivation…. All her dreams, you know, like basically just fell apart in front of her eyes.”

He questions how such a “trivial mistake” could be made on an important document.

Yamitu, who was also a refugee claimant in 2017, is asking IRCC to properly train its employees, for mistakes to be quickly remedied and for immigration officers to have empathy for applicants.

Zebene’s lawyer Teklemichael Sahlemariam, who practises refugee law, said her 16-month wait for the eligibility interview is the longest he’s ever seen among his clients.

Sahlemariam said he actually recommends his Ottawa clients to change their address to Toronto if possible, to avoid delays.

“This often happens to my clients in Ottawa, actually,” said the Toronto-based lawyer. “It was excessively delayed.”

Sahlemariam has also never seen IRCC expire someone’s work permit the same day it was issued; but a week before he heard about Zebene’s expired permit, he saw an email from another lawyer whose client experienced something similar.

“It was a regrettable error and we apologize for that,” wrote an IRC spokesperson.

The ministry said it has now fixed Zebene’s work permit, will print it in two business days and mail it to her. Her study permit is still in the works, it said.