At least two dozen refugees are camping out in front of the offices of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) in Montreal. The protesters have maintained a rotating hunger strike, and have burned documents to protest the "racist and incompetent" IRB. They will be camping out for 3 nights and 4 days.

 
-- Refugees camping out in front of Immigration Canada offices for 3 nights and 4 days

-- Protesters burn documents to protest "racist and incompetent" IRB

[There are 18 photos to accompany this article, available at: http://gallery.cmaq.net/Refugee-camp-out-at-Montreal-IRB

An audio interview with one of the organizers of the protest is available at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=10589]

MONTREAL (December 9, 2004) -- At least two dozen refugee claimants, members of the Human Rights Action Committee (HRAC), have been camping outside the Montreal offices of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) since this past Tuesday. They will remain on their camp-out until the evening of December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.

The protesters have also been maintaining a rotating hunger strike, for at least 24 hours each. Their actions are aimed to raise awareness about the unjust practices of the IRB, and the potential deportation of hundreds of refugee claimants from India in the coming months.

The HRAC is comprised of self-organized, mainly Punjabi-speaking, refugees. The protesters at the IRB range in age from 24 to 70. All the hunger strikers are refused refugee claimants who personally face deportation.

The HRAC's main demands include an end to deportations and the regularization of all non-status people in Canada. As well, they are demanding specific changes in the refugee-determination process, including a refugee appeal division, an end to single-judge panels.

Currently, a single judge determines whether a claimant is a refugee or not, and there is no appeal on the merits of a claim, despite promises by the federal government to establish an appeals division in 2002. As part of the protest, the HRAC is highlighting the "racist and incompetent" practices of IRB judges, and were naming specific judges who were notorious for their rejection of refugee claims.

To denounce the behavior of certain judges, the protesters burned various articles and reports documenting human rights abuses by the Indian police and government in the Punjab. Their action was meant to highlight how some judges don't even bother to read the extensive documentation that support refugee claims.

The rotating hunger strike and camp-out began on Tuesday morning, and demonstrators have slept overnight outside the IRB since then. Two large mattresses have been placed beside the building, as well as dozens of heavy blankets to keep the demonstrators warm in the sub-zero winter weather.

The Human Rights Action Committee's rotating hunger strike and camp-out follows many months of protests, lobbying and media work on behalf of hundreds of failed refugee claimants and illegal immigrants in Montreal and Toronto. They have demonstrated outside of both Prime Minister Paul Martin's and Immigration Minister Judy Sgro's constituency offices multiple times, and have met with dozens of Members of Parliament, as well as collecting thousands of names on a petition.

The HRAC is part of the Solidarity Across Borders network in Montreal, which brings together self-organized, directly-affected refugee groups and individuals, and their allies, in a common campaign for justice and dignity for all immigrants and refugees. Solidarity Across Borders and the HRAC will be planning more actions and activities in the coming months.

--> To get in touch with the Human Rights Action Committee: h...@sympatico.ca or 514-952-2279.

--> To get in touch with the Solidarity Across Borders network in Montreal: noii...@resist.ca or 514-859-9023.

Text by JBS
Photos by Kumar and Singh
Audio by Samira Rahmani