Tamils and the difference between immigrants and refugees
[Aug 29, 2010, 09:48], [Vancouver Sun]
A common refrain regarding the arrival of the Tamil refugees aboard the MV Sun Sea is that
they have "jumped the queue" and taken the place of "legitimate" immigrants who await entry to Canada.
The accusation is emotive but it is just plain wrong. Immigrants and refugees are entirely different groups. Each has its own stringent set of rules for admission to Canada.
Immigrants are people who want to come to Canada and have the opportunity to meet with officials at a Canadian embassy and apply under the criteria established by law. They must meet certain requirements and quotas established by Canada's needs and circumstances.
Refugees are desperate people in flight. They have often been forced from their homes, subjected to human rights abuses, persecuted by the very authorities to whom they'd have to apply if they wished to obtain documents required to emigrate.
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EDITORIAL - Canada’s new Tamil refugees should leave hostilities behind
[Aug 28, 2010, 08:50], [www.lavalnews.ca]
In Canada, a long and historic tradition surrounds the arrival of newcomers by boat. Whether you believe that the initial discoverer of this land was the Norse explorer Leif Ericson or the French navigator Jacques Cartier, both found their way from Europe across the Atlantic to the New World during an era when such exploits were only for the most audacious of risk-takers.
Arriving by boat
Besides Canada’s discoverers, virtually everyone else who has come to this country as an immigrant did so at least up to the middle of the 20th century by boat. The great and memorable waves of immigrants to Canada — be they the starving Irish in the mid-19th century, or the battle-weary Italians a century later following the Second World War, or the Vietnamese “boat people” fleeing communism in the late 1970s — were facilitated by a range of vessels on which the condition of the quarters could range from downright unlivable to merely cramped.
While air travel has mostly replaced ocean navigation and almost everyone who comes to Canada from distant lands now arrives by plane, a certain number still manage to reach our shores from some of the most world’s desperate regions, using one of the only means at their disposal: travelling in the holds of cargo vessels. Whatever anyone may say today about the shipload of 500 Sri Lankan men, women and children who arrived on the west coast a few weeks ago, their trip here was in certain ways as treacherous and as courageous as all the journeys taken by countless numbers of people before.
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Tamils of a different stripe
[Aug 28, 2010, 08:45], [theglobeandmail.com]
As the debate about Tamil boat people plays out, Canadians might ask themselves, “In whose interest?” Who has muddied the debate with suggestions that the boats are filled with criminals and terrorists, and why? Again, why all the fuss over an insignificant number of people, when Canada does not have a boat-people problem of the magnitude of Australia’s? Government of Sri Lanka warnings that Tamil boat people are a threat to Canada’s interests are calculated to provoke the kind of public response seen in recent weeks.
Canadians are right to be concerned about the security of their borders. Globalized terrorism is a threat to Canadians, as it is to Australians. And national identities are a precious commodity. In an unsteady world, and with a rising backlash in Europe directed at Muslim immigration, both Canadian and Australian governments are obliged to soothe these concerns, with measured immigration and refugee intakes. Both countries need strong border protection policies that deter human smuggling and provide a sense of security to their citizens. Somehow a balance must be struck with our international obligations. That is all the more reason why Canadians must resist letting the debate become confused by wild claims.
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Tamils being met with racism
[Aug 27, 2010, 21:05], [langleyadvance.com]
The following scenario is purely imaginary.
After a months-long sea crossing in a leaky converted freighter, more than 400 people from a nation wracked by terrorism and civil war land on Canada's shores.
They immediately claim refugee status. They come from a country that has seen a long and violent conflict. They are essentially on the losing side. They worry about further violence if they return home.
While many of those on board are women and children, some may be members of a foreign terrorist organization.
What does our government do?
That depends. My imaginary boat comes from Northern Ireland, circa 1985. But it may have called to mind a boat that just arrived on our shores from Sri Lanka.
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What's happened to Canada's compassion?
[Aug 27, 2010, 17:03], [The Province]
If the 492 Tamil asylum-seekers who recently arrived by boat on B.C.'s shores are "queue-jumpers," then I guess my parents were too.
They came as Vietnam War draft dodgers from the U.S. in 1967. Like a couple of the Tamil women who just arrived, my mom was pregnant with me. My parents did not seek advance permission from Ottawa to immigrate. They did not fill out any paperwork before arriving. And they could no more seek permission to leave from their home government than these Tamils could, for what they were doing, as far as the U.S. was concerned, was illegal and would result in my father's arrest.
Of course that's the thing about being an asylum-seeker -- you don't get into a queue. When you've got to go, you've got to go.
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On Sri Lanka, UN's Holmes Speaks of Gov't Shelling, Casualties, 2 Sides' Propaganda
[Aug 27, 2010, 06:59], [Inner City Press]
UNITED NATIONS, August 26 -- Asked about Sri Lanka on his final day as UN Humanitarian Coordinator, John Holmes offered a defense of his department's funding of the government's internment camps while admitting the government may have “deliberately shelled” civilians and hospitals. Video here, from Minute 17:29.
Inner City Press asked Holmes about criticism of his and the UN's actions in Sri Lanka, for example pulling out of Kilinochchi, funding the internment camps and failing even now to get to the bottom of the murder of the Action Contre La Faim humanitarian workers. Video here, from Minute 14:30.
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Ruling on Sri Lankan's refugee status claim upheld
[Aug 27, 2010, 06:38], [www.radionz.co.nz]
The Supreme Court has upheld an earlier ruling that found a Sri Lankan citizen who arrived in New Zealand in 2001 was eligible to claim refugee status.
The Attorney-General had appealed against the earlier Court of Appeal decision.
The man had been chief engineer on a cargo vessel owned by the Tamil Tigers, during a voyage in which weapons and munitions were taken to Sri Lanka for the group's use.
The Refugee Status Appeals Authority found that before the ship embarked the man had known the nature of its cargo and the atrocities committed by the Tamil Tigers.
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Tamils can call Sri Lanka — free
[Aug 26, 2010, 08:53], [torontosun.com]
Frustrated Tamil migrants were finally given the free use of telephones to call their loved ones in Sri Lanka after losing contact with them for more than 14 weeks, including 12 spent on the rusty MV Sun Sea that smuggled them into Canada.
The migrants, who are being held in B.C., were allowed to call family members Wednesday.
Calls to Sri Lanka can average about 10 cents a minute and the migrants had complained about not being able to phone home.
“They are worried about their wives and family back at home,” said David Poopalapilllai, of the Canadian Tamil Congress.
“They haven’t heard from their loved ones in more than three months.”
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Measures to address Tamil refugee issues recommended
[Aug 26, 2010, 08:49], [Jewishtribune.ca]
Toronto – As public debate regarding the plight of the 492 Tamil refugee claimants intensifies, B’nai Brith Canada has warned against allowing racism to creep into public discourse on the issue and recommended three proactive solutions.
Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, said, “Let us learn from our past. As discussed in our coming National Holocaust Task Force Student Resource on the history of Canadian immigration policy, there have been tragic incidents in Canada’s not-so-distant history, where boatloads of refugees were turned away from our shores due to attitudes laced with racism.
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At UN, Sri Lanka Move to Place Alleged War Criminal As Ambassador Questioned
[Aug 26, 2010, 08:35], [Inner City Press]
UNITED NATIONS, August 25 -- Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN post, vacant following Bandula Jayasekera's department triggered by a sexual harassment scandal, is now reportedly slated to be filled by Major General Shavendra Silva, who “was allegedly among those mentioned by MP Sarath Fonseka in a media interview where he had said that the former 58 Division Commander had received orders to shoot at sight LTTE suspects who came with white flags to surrender to the army during the final stage of war.”
At the UN on Wednesday, Inner City Press asked Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, about this reported appointment and that of General Wasantha Karannagoda to replace Palitha Kohona as Permanent Representative.
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Seeking justice in Sri Lanka
[Aug 26, 2010, 08:33], [www.ctpost.com]
Sri Lanka's bloody 25-year-long civil war ended violently in May 2009. However, Sri Lankan civilians -- particularly Tamils -- are still suffering under the government's iron-fisted rule.
The Sri Lankan government sponsors and condones extrajudicial killings, rape and the disappearances of members of the opposition. In addition, the government has repeatedly failed to adequately investigate allegations of war crimes committed during the war. Sri Lanka's oppressive political atmosphere makes accountability, justice and reconciliation seem like an impossible dream for the war's many victims.
Fortunately, Rep. Jim Himes refuses to remain silent about the abuses and injustices that occurred during Sri Lanka's civil war. Instead, Himes stood up for human rights by signing a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to call for an independent and internationally backed investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka.
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Tamil kids don't deserve jail
[Aug 26, 2010, 00:32], [The Own News ]
I called my MP, James Moore, to discuss the situation of the Tamil migrants, especially the women and children who are being held in jail while awaiting a hearing. The clerk that answered the phone assured me it was not true that they were in jail.
I asked to speak to Mr. Moore and she said he would call back. He didn't, but his executive assistant, Barb Haidn, did take time from her busy schedule to call me.
I was not allowed to ask questions or make a comment, as it was she who was doing the talking; if I didn't wish to listen she would hang up. I listened. She assured me that they were not in jail, and they were "being held in a secure location where they had access to shelter and medical care."
I understood from articles they were being held at the Alouette Correctional Facility, but if Ottawa doesn't call it a jail, what is it? A concentration camp? I cannot believe that it is necessary for Canadians to hold children in jail. It cannot be true that Canada can do this.
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Canada unpredictable on human rights says new Amnesty boss
[Aug 25, 2010, 01:40], [The Star]
MONTREAL—Canada’s position on human rights issues is becoming harder and harder to predict, says Amnesty International’s newly appointed boss.
Salil Shetty said Monday that Canada is now taking drastically different positions in areas such as torture and the death penalty where it has traditionally been progressive.
“Generally speaking if you talk to most Canadians, there’s a big gap between what they believe Canada does and what the reality is in terms of government policy and actions,” Shetty said in an interview.
“It’s a G8 country, it’s a major world power and it has produced so many leaders on these issues, so it has (had) a trendsetting or agenda-setting role.”
Amnesty’s new secretary general said it’s hard to know where Canada stands on many issues.
“You could predict where Canada stood on many of the issues in the past and now you can’t be sure,” Shetty said before delivering a speech at the CIVICUS World Assembly, a gathering of civil society groups.
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Tamils and Toronto
[Aug 25, 2010, 01:38], [Torontoist.com]
It's no surprise that mayoral candidate Rob Ford's opponents have seized on his recent comments about immigration as proof he is unfit to become the next mayor of our very diverse city. Nor is it surprising, despite our multi-ethnic claim to fame, that many in Toronto and across the GTA agree with Ford's declaration that "enough is enough" when it comes to reaching out to refugees. After all, Ford offered his comments in the context of the recent arrival of a ship of nearly five hundred Tamil migrants in British Columbia.
Many Torontonians are still fuming from weeks of protests last year by thousands of members of the Tamil community that obstructed downtown thoroughfares, including an infamous five-hour blockade of the Gardiner Expressway. Few among the inconvenienced understood the reasons behind the sustained protests, and even fewer could fathom any legitimate excuse. If the anti-immigrant tone of this controversy seems more bellicose than usual for Toronto the Diverse, it is because Tamils in Toronto continue to be much more of a "them" than an "us."
We spoke with Manjula Selvarajah, a Tamil volunteer with the Canadian Tamil Congress, about perceptions and realities about the Tamil community in Toronto. She told us of the community's volunteer and community work in partnership with the likes of the Canadian Cancer Society, SickKids Foundation, Youthlink, Pride Toronto, and Canadian Blood Services. This last partnership is especially noteworthy, as Tamils in central Ontario have donated more blood than any other CBS partner in the region since 2008.
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Michael Ignatieff: lower the rhetoric on Tamil migrants
[Aug 24, 2010, 08:53], [News 1130]
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Canadians need to stand back and take a deep breath when it comes to the discussion around the almost 500 migrants who arrived on our soil a little over a week ago. That's the advice federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff doled out during a live interview with News1130 at the PNE on Saturday.
Ignatieff says the government is trying to scare Canadians by telling them terrorists were on board the MV Sun Sea. The Liberal leader says we should put our faith in the refugee system to weed out those who don't deserve asylum in Canada. "Let's just lower that rhetoric here. Let's lower the temperature. Give our officials a chance to sort out who's who. And also never forget that this country has been a home to refugees, and I think it should remain so."
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