Immigrant Counsellor allegedly killed by Client

Bayrush Hagus, Counsellor

Vancouver and Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Bayush Hagos, 57 years old supported a woman from her community, Ayelech Zenebe Ejigu, accused of trying to murder her husband and when she could not find a home for Ayelech, she opened her own home and a week later Bayush was dead. The client is now the number one suspect.
   This raises the question of community working for their own community members as support. An incident like this might not have happened if  Aleyelech had a support worker was from another community. We have more compassion and understanding for people in our own communities and would be willing to go beyond the call of professional duty to help out, thinking we are doing the right thing. As we see in this case, it could be a dangerous mix. Hagos has been in the job for many years and I am sure she knew she was crossing professional boundaries when she decided to accept a client into her home.  As humans how can we separate our emotions and feelings for one another so close in language and culture in a foreign land with little other support? How can you send a woman away into a shelter for the homeless, how can you support a woman in need when the resources are scarce?
    Should this single incident cause a change in policy? I think not but it should raise some serious questions for discussions around issues where community members are ask to help others from similar backgrounds.
   One might argue that Canadian workers face the same issue in dealing with women from Canadian born background or what is the difference? The difference immigrant women are far more vulnerable - their issues are more complex in terms of culture, language, family support and settlement issues. Many of the women come from backgrounds where they were exposed to all kinds of violence and mental health issues might not be easy to be recognized in these people as it may be layered under many other issues.
    I feel sad that this has happened. It only reinforce the need for a violence free society no matter what form the violence takes, greater  community supports and an intercultural approach to service provision.

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/09/10/burnaby-counsellor-allegedly-killed-by-client/