First paragraph (Teaser):

::: A CALL FOR SUPPORT, SOLIDARITY AND ACTION:::

::: ABDELKADER BELAOUNI TAKES SANCTUARY INSIDE A MONTREAL CHURCH :::

4 January 2006

Abdelkader Belaouni ­ who is an active member of Solidarity Across Borders & the Action Committee of Non-Status Algerians, and was one of over 100 people who marched to Ottawa this summer to demand the regularization of all non-status persons in Canada ­ has taken sanctuary at St. Gabriel¹s church in Montreal. Abdelkader¹s deportation date is set for tomorrow, January 5th, but he has decided to continue to fight against this injustice, and has sought sanctuary in order to avoid deportation.

Your support is urgently needed to ensure that Abdelkader remains safely in sanctuary until his status in Canada is regularized!

Rest of the text:

::: A CALL FOR SUPPORT, SOLIDARITY AND ACTION:::

::: ABDELKADER BELAOUNI TAKES SANCTUARY INSIDE A MONTREAL CHURCH :::

4 January 2006

Abdelkader Belaouni ­ who is an active member of Solidarity Across Borders & the Action Committee of Non-Status Algerians, and was one of over 100 people who marched to Ottawa this summer to demand the regularization of all non-status persons in Canada ­ has taken sanctuary at St. Gabriel¹s church in Montreal. Abdelkader¹s deportation date is set for tomorrow, January 5th, but he has decided to continue to fight against this injustice, and has sought sanctuary in order to avoid deportation.

Your support is urgently needed to ensure that Abdelkader remains safely in sanctuary until his status in Canada is regularized!

While Abdelkader and his supporters are actively campaigning for him to stay in Canada, we are urgently calling for a PHONE/FAX/EMAIL campaign, to demand that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration STAY ABDELKADER BELAOUNI¹S DEPORTATION AND IMMEDIATELY GRANT HIM STATUS IN CANADA.

It is essential ­ as Abdelkader¹s deportation date passes ­ that we demonstrate our support and demand justice.

TAKE ACTION

>> Please call and/or fax a letter to the following politicians to demand that they stop Abdelkader¹s deportation and grant him permanent

resident status in Canada. Please cc sans...@resist.ca to let us know you have written or called.

Calls are particularly important during this period because of the urgency.

Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Tel: (613) 992-6361 and (416) 781-5583, Fax: (613) 992-9791 and (416) 781-5586, vol...@parl.gc.ca AND Mini...@cic.gc.ca

Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (also in charge of the Canadian Border Services Agency), Tel: (613) 992-4524, Fax: (613) 943-0044, McLe...@parl.gc.ca

René D¹Aoust, Director Investigations and Removals, CIC Montreal, Tel: (514) 496-1237, Fax: (514) 496-2222

Liza Frulla, MP (Liberal), Jeanne-Le Ber, Tel: (514) 496-4885, Fax: (514) 496-4888

Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, Tel: (514) 363-0954, Fax: (514) 367-5533, p...@pm.gc.ca

See sample letter, below.

:::BACKGROUND:::

Abdelkader Belaouni is a blind man from Algeria who has been living in Montreal for close to three years. After exhausting all recourses to remain legally in Canada, and facing deportation on January 5th, 2005, Abdelkader sought sanctuary at Saint Gabriel¹s church in his own neighbourhood of Point St-Charles, in Montreal. For him, deportation will mean losing the dignity, autonomy and security for which he has worked so hard to achieve since settling in Montreal nearly three years ago.

Recognizing the importance of supporting Abdelkader in his fight against the injustice of Citizenship and Immigration Canada¹s decision to reject his applications to remain legally in Canada, Saint Gabriel¹s church in Montreal offered sanctuary to Abdelkader. Father MacDonald, of Saint Gabriel¹s church, has stated: ³[It is] compassionate justice that we are looking for, as opposed to any kind of legalistic justice.²

Over the past few years, Abdelkader has worked hard to put down roots in Montreal. His adaptation to life in Montreal is particularly remarkable given that he has been displaced on two previous occasions: first in Algeria where he endured and escaped the civil war and, second, in the post-9/11/2001 climate of the U.S.A., where he experienced the racist backlash against Arabs and Muslims. Moreover, his involvement in Quebec and Canadian society is demonstrated by the 32 letters of support he has received thus far, including organizations and individuals who have come to know and respect him. Groups such as Committee to Aid Refugees, Montreal City Mission, Association Multi-ethnique pour l'intégration des personnes handicapées (where he volunteered for over a year),The Brail and Nazareth Institute, and Legal Aid of Pointe St-Charles and Little Burgundy have called for the deportation to be halted and Abdelkader to remain in Canada.

Mr. Belaouni would be deported first to the U.S.A., where there is a high risk of detention pending deportation back to Algeria. As an Arab, as a Muslim, and as a blind man with diabetes-related health problems, he would be particularly vulnerable in detention.

Mr. Belaouni was victim of an unjust decision by CIC that rejected his application on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds on October 24, 2005. This decision discriminated against Mr. Belaouni on the basis that he wasn't employed ­ which neglected to take into account both the systemic discrimination against handicapped persons in general and the lack of access to employment opportunities as a result of the precariousness associated with not having legal status. The decision ignores the varied contributions that Abdelkader has made in his community.

:: SAMPLE LETTER ::

Feel free to use the following letter as a model. Please also feel free to personalize the text as much as possible.

(Name)

(Address)

(Place, date)

Re : Abdelkader Belaouni

Dear (fill in name),

I am shocked and angry to learn that Canada plans to deport Mr. Abdelkader Belaouni on January 5th. Mr. Belaouni is a man who has overcome great barriers - including a visual impairment - to create a secure and dignified life for himself in Montreal, after being displaced twice. I find it alarming that rather than exercise its ³compassion² and recognize Mr. Belaouni¹s achievements, CIC has instead based its refusal to grant Mr. Belaouni status on the grounds that Mr. Belaouni has been unable to find work. This decision fails to take into account the fact of his total visual impairment, and is thus discriminatory. Not only does this decision discriminate against Mr. Belaouni because of his disability, but it also ignores the significant contributions and strong connections Mr. Belaouni has made in his community of Point St-Charles, and more broadly in Montreal.

Mr. Belaouni enjoys the support of over 30 organizations in Montreal, as well as the support of countless individuals such as myself. For example, Steve Watson from the Canadian Auto Worker's union writes:

"I know that Abdelkader has tried hard to make an independent life for himself in Canada. He is active in his neighbourhood, Point St-Charles, and in groups working to make a better life for people in poverty and insecurity.

"Abdelkader has tried very hard to support himself. He told me how he sold the magazine l'Itineraire in the Montreal Metro. He has taken a mobility course for the blind at the Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille.

"He should not be penalized for discriminatory policies and employment practices which are beyond his control. Because he is not a citizen Abdelkader was denied entry to some programmes meant to enhance opportunities for the blind.

"Nevertheless, Abdelkader has volunteered with the Multi-Ethnic Association for the Integration of the Handicapped of Quebec (AMEIPH). There he has been a front-desk receptionist since January, 2005. I have since learned that he has only missed three days: once when his mother went into a coma, once when his mother died, and once after he learned of his deportation order.

"We need more people like Abdelkader in Canada.²

I couldn¹t agree more.

The fact that the deportation of Mr. Belaouni will likely mean his detention in the US, pending his eventual deportation to Algeria, exemplifies a gross injustice.He will be particularly vulnerable in detention due to his diabetes and visual impairment, and this in addition to the discrimination that he will face as an Arab and Muslim.

Why would Canada deport a man to detention, deportation and insecurity - someone who contributes to the fabric of our community while living a dignified and autonomous life in Canada?

I urge you to exercise your power to stop the deportation of Mr. Belaouni, and to provide him with status here in Canada.

Sincerely,

Name
Address

************************************************************************

This appeal is issued by the Committee to Support Abdelkader Belaouni
sans...@resist.ca
(514) 859-9023
www.solidarityacrossborders.org

To see photos of Abdelkader marching to Ottawa with Solidarity Across
Borders this past summer, visit:
http://gallery.cmaq.net/nooiimarch_05/DSCN0013_1
http://gallery.cmaq.net/nooiimarch_05/DSCN0026_1

---
sans...@resist.ca
http://www.solidarityacrossborders.org