Despite the daily brutality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, despite the intolerable living conditions in refugee camps inside Lebanon and elsewhere, the federal government considers it acceptable to deport refugees back to these areas. Approximately 100 Palestinian refugees in Canada are thus in danger of being deported in the coming weeks and months, and Citizenship & Immigration Canada has been largely unresponsive to their pleas for humanitarian consideration.

That was the message conveyed by representatives of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, which met last night in the basement of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Church, along with delegates of other organisations.

 
Despite the daily brutality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, despite the intolerable living conditions in refugee camps inside Lebanon and elsewhere, the federal government considers it acceptable to deport refugees back to these areas. Approximately 100 Palestinian refugees in Canada are thus in danger of being deported in the coming weeks and months, and Citizenship & Immigration Canada has been largely unresponsive to their pleas for humanitarian consideration.

That was the message conveyed by representatives of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, which met last night in the basement of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Church, along with delegates of other organisations such as PAJU (Palestinians and Jews United) and SPHR (Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights).

The basement of the church is also sanctuary for three Palestinians from Ein El-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon. In danger of being deported for over four months now, Therese Boulos Haddad, Khalil Ayoub and Nabih Ayoub were present at last night's assembly to speak of their experience as "stateless" refugees.

The persecution of refugees in Lebanon -- where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians populate massive camp-towns first established over half a century ago -- is not the kind of shameless brutality one can find in Occupied Palestine. In Lebanon, a sort of systemic discrimination is employed to deny refugees access to public education, medical care, and other government services reserved for "real" citizens. Moreover, the refugees aren't allowed to own property and are denied freedom of travel.

When they arrive to Canada, the refugees face incoherent and confusing treatment on the part of Citizenship & Immigration: even when their cases are nearly identical, some are deported, and others are allowed to stay. What's more, the federal government is ripe with internal contradiction -- Citizenship & Immigration deports people back to regions deemed unsafe for travel by Foreign Affairs.

Since June 2002, a single bureaucrat can decide a refugee's fate, and the restrictions are increasingly numerous thanks to post-9/11 hysteria. Worse still, according to a study by the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, members of the IRB (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada) lack sensitivity towards refugees' plight while exhibiting political bias. Some members question claimants' political opinions, while others seem to simply deny the tragic realities of life under Israeli occupation, despite an abundance of proof ...

Despite repeated demands, the Minister of Immigration Judy Sgro has refused to meet the refugees and parishioners at Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The same goes for Paul Martin's "lieutenant" in Quebec, Jean Lapierre.

What can be done ?

To pressure the federal government, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees is organising a demonstration, Wednesday June 16th at 5:00 PM, in front of Jean Lapierre's offices in the riding of Outremont. The activists are also reaching out to various candidates in the current federal election, and trying to obtain concrete support from the labour unions. The public is also invited to lobby Citizenship & Immigration Canada by sending letters, e-mails, and faxes.

In related news, a demonstration against the Israeli occupation of Palestine will take place this Saturday, June 5th in Montreal.