Myths and Realities about 490 Tamil Refugees on MV Sun Sea
by No One Is Illegal.org
Myth 1: They are illegals who are jumping the queue.
There is no ‘queue’ for refugee claimants. Refugees are forced from their homes in emergency situations due to human rights abuses committed during wars, military occupations, or persecution against a minority group. We cannot expect refugees to wait for Canada to select them from overseas. We must understand that they undertake long and dangerous journeys to protect their lives and the lives of their families. According to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, to which Canada is a party, there are no penalties on refugees who arrive without pre-authorization and irregularly.
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Myth 2: They are terrorists.
There is no evidence to substantiate this. Rohan Gunaratna, the government’s primary source, has already been discredited by lawyers as well as an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator for being uncredible. Last October, when the 76 Tamil asylum-seekers came on Ocean Lady they were similarly labeled as terrorists and security threats. However by Jan 2010, they were all released from detention when Canadian Border Services Agency admitted they had no evidence of a terrorist connection.
Furthermore, officials are just relying on stereotypes of Tamils as all being associated with the Tamil Tigers to create unnecessary racist hysteria and mistrust of asylum-seekers. National security laws in the post-911 climate have directly targeted and marginalized immigrants, refugees, and racialized people. These laws and policies are less about protecting society than creating a culture of fear. Many of these policies – such as Security Certificates – have been struck down in the Courts after years of human rights and anti racist campaigning. The rhetoric of the War on Terror serves as a convenient distraction from the reality that people’s daily lives are increasingly unsafe and insecure due to global neoliberal economics and war-mongering that leads to mass displacement, poverty, and human rights atrocities.
Myth 3: The situation is getting better in Sri Lanka.
According to a 2010 Amnesty International report, in the past 12 months the Sri Lankan government has continued to jail critics and clamped down on dissent. Some 80,000 Tamils remain in refugee camps, while 400,000 displaced Tamils survive in communities where homes and infrastructure were destroyed. The government continues to extend a state of emergency, restricting many basic human rights, and thousands of arbitrary detentions are justified under the guise of detainees being suspected Tamil Tigers. This past month, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a panel to investigate war crimes and genocidal acts committed by the Sri Lankan government against Tamils.
Myth 4: They are a burden on tax payers.
The biggest resource expenditure has been the government’s choice to spend thousands of dollars in an unnecessary security operation, including resources spent on incarcerating women and children. Only a tiny fraction has been spent on the health and well-being of the migrants, whose lives are worth more than dollars. Furthermore, scapegoating migrants for being a financial burden lets the government off the hook. All residents continue to receive inadequate access to necessary social services because of misplaced government priorities – choosing to bail out banks and sink billions into the police and military – not because of the lack of resources to provide a social safety net for all in need.
Myth 5: Canada has a generous refugee system; we cannot keep accepting people.
Despite border panics, only a small minority of asylum seekers make claims in the Western world. There are about 20 million refugees worldwide and most migrate into neighboring countries of Africa, Middle East, and South Asia. Canada accepts fewer than 20,000 refugees per year, which is less than 0.1% of the world’s displaced population.
Furthermore, Canada’s system is not generous. Deportations from Canada have skyrocketed 50% over the last decade, with 13,000 deportations in the past year. With the Conservatives, the number of approved asylum claims has dropped by 56%. Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney’s recent refugee reforms create two tiers of refugees, establishing a hierarchy based on nationality. There are countless structural flaws in the system, designed to make it near impossible to claim asylum. Immigration and Refugee Board members are political appointees; certain avenues such as the Pre Removal Risk Assessment have acceptance rates of 3-5% while others such as the Humanitarian and Compassionate claim do not have to be processed prior to deportation. In addition, the refugee system has been termed a “lottery system” because acceptance rates can vary from 0-80% depending on the judge. The Safe Third Country Agreement between the US and Canada creates a “Fortress Canada” by disallowing up to 40% of asylum seekers.
Myth 6: It is not our problem.
The Canadian government has recently been forced to apologize for racist and exclusionary historical measures including the Chinese Exclusion Act and Komagatamaru incident. These apologies and the rhetoric of multiculturalism is hollow when current policies and practices perpetuate racism and exclusion. The recent backlash that repeats the tired-old refrain about ‘illegals’ and ‘criminals’ has meant that right-wing neo-nazis such as Paul Fromm and the Aryan Guard have resurfaced publicly and are being given a platform to spew their hate about sending the boat back. Is this really the side that we are on?
Immigration and refugee issues are not simply about Canadian benevolence or charity. We need to rethink what function and whose interests the state border actually serves. The current trends of global migration reveal the ways in which patters of Western domination and corporate globalization have enriched some countries by creating economic and political insecurity that forces people indigenous to their lands to migrate. The Canadian government continues to maintain economic and diplomatic ties with the government of Sri Lanka, instead of supporting those who have survived the brutality of that government, which makes us complicit in their displacement. Also, we must always remember that Canada is a settler country, built on the theft of Indigenous lands and the forced assimilation of Indigenous communities. On what basis is a colonial government denying colonized people their right to livelihood? Finally, we must challenge the idea that some are more worthy than others to a life of dignity; instead we should reaffirm the universal value that people have the freedom to move in order to seek safety and to flourish.
LET THE TAMIL REFUGEES STAY!
NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL, THE SYSTEM IS ILLEGAL! ~ courtesy: No One is illegal ~
~ Visit us at www.nooneisllegal.org or email noii-van@resist.ca ~
8 Comments
Myth#1 - There is No queue !!
What ? Is that so ? Then how come there is a waiting list of years for anyone attempting to migrate to Canada ? Why does it take years to process a refugee claim ? If there was no queue, it should be possible to arrive at a Canadian port or embassy and immediately be granted immigration status. "No One Is Illegal is being especially cynical here and ignoring the glaring fact that whatever refugees who were awaiting hearings having arrived earlier than the Tamil boat, have now been shunted aside. What of their plight ? Or is this Tamil boat simply jut too delightfully delicious, publcity-wise, to ignore - and to hell with the other refugees ?
Myth#2 - They are TERRORISTS !!
This at least is probably true - nevertheless, they may be families of LTTE members - Should Canada cast aside it's screening processes simply because they are Tamils and somehow deserve to be granted status ?
Myth#3 - Situation is getting better in Sri Lanka
Of course it is. Only organizations like HRW, AI and NoOneIsIllegal wish it were not so. Travel advisories are lifted, large sections of Emergency Regulations are revoked and even the refugee-status Diaspora Tamils are travelling to visit their folk, albeit without having to pay "kappan" to the LTTE to visit the North - perhaps re-introducing that (along with child-conscription and suicide bombers) would serve to "improve" Sri Lanka in the eyes of organizations such as AI, HRW and NoOneIsIllegal.
Myth#4 - They are a burden on Taxpayers
Of course they are. Who pays for the services they receive ? When Canadians see beds hitherto unavailable to them, suddenly appear for Tamils, see Legal Aid fees being paid for Tamils when the homeless of Canada are told they have to wait years for affordable housing and have no place to go, when they watch as public services deteriorate for want of cash which magically appears for Tamils., they ARE a burden. If NoOnIsIllegal is willing to foot the bill for the care and support of the Tamils, THEN they would not be a burden on the taxpayer - That however, is unlikely to happen. The biggest currency that NoOneIsIllegal seems to have is TALK, not ACTION
Myth#5 - Canada has a generous refugee system
At the same time that supporters of the Tamil boat are praising Canada's genorosity to refugees, NoOneIsIllegal is denouncing it. Who is right ? Certainly the number of Tamil refugees would give the lie to NoOneIsIllegals claim. And just why did these people come by boat anyway ? Is it because under the "Safe Third Country" agreement, it would be easier to have turned them away had they arrived by aircraft ? If they only wanted refuge, then any country other than SriLanka would have sufficed. Yet they bypassed a hundred countries between Thailand and Canada... Why ? Why are these fundamental questions being ignored by NoOneIsIllegal ?
Myth#6 - It is not our problem
Well, by choosing to come by boat, the Tamils have certainly made it "our problem", haven't they ?
Hey, People of "NoOneIsIllegal", why don't YOU guys undertake to look after and financially support the Tamil Boat People out of your own pocket instead of berating other Canadians about it ? I am sure everyone would applaud you guys putting your money where your mouth is and you would burnish and put an additional glow on the idea of Canadian Generosity...
No ? Really ? Why Not ? Not convinced of your own arguments that you are willing to take more than a non-verbal stand ?
I didn't think so.
Neighbouring poor countries accepets more refugees than the western world. This is a fsact for most refugees around the world.
Idia despite being a poor country accepts more sri alnkan Tamil refugees. 29,000 in 2009 alone. On top of it it accepts Tibetan, Burmese, Afghani, Bhutanese, Afghani refugees. I dont see any panick in India over refugees. Remember the Dalai Lama him self is a refugee in India
Thanks very much for the wondeful article
How about the the Fact 1:
70% of all Tamil refugees return to Sri Lanka after getting Canadian citizenship. Why is there no mention of this fact.
I personally don't have a issue of these people getting refugee status in Canada. This should looked from a human angle. However, this article is totally biased.
LOL!
WELL SAID mercator.
Mercator
Are we getting mixed messages?? Is someone lying and someone desperately trying to bring out the truth????
Sri Lankan government must quickly sort this out. If they couldn't do it for 62 years, the civil society should seriously think about what to do:
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/03/no_funds_to_meet_needs_of_near.html/
No funds to meet needs of nearly 200,000 Northern IDPs due to govt refusal to endorse 2010 action plan, 13 March 2010: ''The funding crisis follows the government’s refusal to endorse the 2010 Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP), authoritative sources said. …. The UN and other humanitarian agencies are running out of resources to meet the urgent needs of internally displaced persons in the North. ...''
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2010.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/SVAN-843LTD-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf
Banking on Solutions, A real-time evaluation of UNHCR’s shelter grant programme for returning displaced people in Northern Sri Lanka, March 2010: ''....The extent of shelter destruction appears to have been underestimated .... government restrictions on NGO access limited programming options, .... Movement along the A9 is also still restricted for international NGOs and UN agencies. ...since July 2009 they(ICRC) have not had access to the 11,000 people suspected of LTTE links held in rehabilitation centres. ....’’
http://www.groundviews.org/2010/05/07/jaffna-after-the-war-observations-by-a-visitor/
Jaffna after the war: Observations by a visitor, Leela Issac, 7 May 2010:
*''... A lot of building material (from China) has been unloaded on either side of the road between Murugandy and Mankulam. We stopped to ask one of the soldiers, whether there was a plan to build houses for the displaced. 'No' he said, it was China's donation towards an army cantonment. The government plans to put up an army camp just like the one at Panagoda.... But the question is why are they being kept there after the war is over? There is no fear or danger of LTTE attacks now. So what is the need for this heavy military presence in the North? On the A9 road every hundred meters there is a bunker and every mile or so a major military base. It certainly does not promote peace and reconciliation. ...''
http://www.thesamosa.co.uk/index.php/sri-lanka-special-report/49-news-and-features/358-sri-lanka-fear-and-trauma-one-year-on.html
Sri Lanka - fear and trauma, one year on, Nina de la Preugne, 19 May 2010:
*''........ Despite the end of the war a year ago and the dismantling of the separatist LTTE, the ratio of soldiers to citizens in the area is overwhelming. Driving through the Vanni, one loses count of the number of checkpoints along the route to the Jaffna peninsula at the northernmost tip of the island. There, the impression of being on a military base is reinforced by the soldiers, bunkers and signs welcoming you to regiments' buildings at every street corner.... Ministry of Defence officials told the reporter that clearance is required in order to prevent journalists from "reporting bad things on what is happening in Jaffna and Vanni".
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Vanni,-northern-Sri-Lanka,-where-war-has-never-ended-18558.html
Vanni, northern Sri Lanka, where war has never ended, Melanie Manel Perera,1 June 2010:
''The area is still actually in the hands of the military, which allowed the return of the population but force them to live in absolute poverty. The military blocks any attempts to improve their lives, but does not stop abuse and violence. … Permission has been rejected for counselling, capacity building and empowerment activities.''
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/08/sinhala_nationalist_mind_set_s.html
Sinhala nationalist mind set seems incapable of comprehending what Tamils are articulating: Revisiting Jaffna BY Dushy Ranetunge, 14 August 2010:
‘’…The A9 highway from Omanthai until Elephant Pass is dominated by predominantly Sinhalese soldiers, who even operate the small restaurants by the roadside. This military presence seems overwhelming and stifling…. They also without exception viewed the many roadside bunkers in the Jaffna Peninsula and soldiers guarding most junctions as creating a perception of an army of occupation. ….
Our visit to Jaffna exposed and confirmed that all the conditions and discontent that led to the Tamil rebellion are still present today. The only ingredient that is lacking is the combustion of anti-Tamil riots such as in 1956, 1958, 1977, 1981, and 1983.
The Sinhala nationalist mind set seems incapable of comprehending what the Tamils are articulating. ….’’
Mercator,
I believe you need a total reboot of your top of your neck. I dont know you but from your ras class comments you need a total reeducation just like most sinhala illitrate, you people still beleive in stone age solution for 21st century problem. You must be lucky mad prabas mistake, you defending your sinhala barbarism. God bless you but you will pay heavily nust wait when and how...
"davidson panabokke" (of COURSE you are !!) and muthu
The article and my responses deal with an boatload of so-called "refugees" turning up in Canada and a puerile attempt by a publicity-hungry NGO to capitalise on it - not with how many tea boutiques line the A9
If you guys are unable to make that connection, it's just too bad, isn't it ?
I still want to know where these people got $40,000 to $50,000 a piece to take a boat ride. I thought refugees were the poor and downtrodden. We had a group of refugees come into our state and none of them had this kind of money on them. Hell even as a citizen of the country I don't have this much free cash on hand. That's ok, the next boatload is on its way to Canada soon: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/article1689499/