Toronto Star Letter To The Editor: Is The Tamil Migrant Ship Just A Repeat Of The 1914 Komagata Maru Incident Of Racism?
Shades of 1914 Komagata Maru incident?
Re: Canadian officials intercept Tamil ship, Aug. 13
Is MV Sun Sea a modern-day Komagata Maru?
Has anyone else noticed the eerie similarity of the treatment being meted out to the group of Tamil arrivals in 2010 with that of the more than 300 (mostly Sikh) South Asian arrivals in 1914? I am, of course, referring to the Canadian government’s shameful treatment of the passengers of the Komagata Maru in 1914. (The government would not allow the would-be immigrants to land in Vancouver and the ship was forced to take them back to India.)
In 1982 at a yard sale in Durham county, I bought a book written by Ted Ferguson with a very interesting title: A white man’s country: An exercise in Canadian prejudice, which was published in 1975. I could not remember that I had heard of the Komagata Maru incident before reading Ferguson’s book.
There are some differences in that the passengers of the Komagata Maru had not been labelled terrorists and the Canadian government was very open about its white supremacist culture.
Interestingly enough, the passengers of the Komagata Maru were all British citizens since India, like Canada at the time (1914), was part of the British Empire.
Since Freguson’s book was published in 1975 other books have been written about the Komagata Maru incident, including Tragedy of the Komagata Maru (1975) by Sohan Singh Josh The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: the Sikh Challenge to Canada’s Colour Bar (1979) by Hugh J.M. Johnston, White Canada Forever: Popular Attitudes and Public Policy toward Orientals in British Columbia (1990) by W. Peter Ward.
I encourage people who do not know about this bit of Canadian history to check out the similarities and see that the more things supposedly change, the more they remain the same.
It would be interesting to read what white Canadian journalists wrote about the passengers of the Komagata Maru and what they are writing about the passengers of the MV Sun Sea.
Murphy Browne, Toronto
CTV.CA Message Board: Canadians Are Upset About Tamils But Are They Just Anti South Asian Racists?
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Related: Hundreds of Tamil migrants arrive at B.C. base Now you can also Tweet your comments using #talkbackto Comments are now closed for this story Jon Living in Canada is a precious privilege and we treat it as though it’s not simply offering haven to anyone. We need to make it much more difficult to enter and we should stop accepting immigrants from 3rd world nations all together. They don’t adapt and treat our country as an extension of their own. We are losing our culture and it’s our fault! Reform needs to happen NOW! Cherie Lori Crusty Rusty That being the case, turn the boat around and let them stand in line like every other “genuine” migrant wishing entry. Our liberal (and warm fuzzy) approach to immigration is gradually putting us under as we pay for their stay while their stories are researched and adjudicated. Darlene George Sue Marshall AJ Why are these people allowed free entry and receive all benefits when I cannot? Liz Elizabeth, Ontario jo maggie Lori jason MJV Linda Hani Tracey Kassandra Janice Seburn Margaret Craig Kaptin Perhaps you think I’m cruel, but we can’t keep taking in everyone that has problems and who don’t like their own country. Our immigration system is already taxed to hell and gone. We don’t need more refugees, sorry! Why don’t they go to the U.S.? Canada IS NOT a refugee dumping ground here. Dan46 |
National Post Article: Are The Tamil Migrants Real Refugees, Terrorists, Or Simply Victims Of Human Smuggling?
Kelly Sundberg: Let’s get serious about human smuggling
National Post August 16, 2010 – 3:15 pm
Blair Gable / Reuters
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews glowers menacingly in Ottawa on June 14.
With the arrival of the MV Sun Sea, carrying its human cargo of some 490 hopeful refugees and suspected members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Canadians are once again witnessing the despondency surrounding the global plight of human smuggling. Days ago, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews rightly acknowledged that “the problem of human smuggling and illegal migration is a serious one” and vowed that “the abuse of our immigration system is something that our government will not tolerate.” Yet, in reflecting upon similar past events and observing our government’s response, it is evident our leaders have a long way to go before they can boast of meaningfully addressing concerns surrounding human smuggling and the immigration system abuses.
In 2008-09, our government spent over $116-million on immigration enforcement — however, despite this sizable investment, thousands of people continued to be smuggled across our borders and the criminals responsible carried on with impunity. What’s more, Canada has less than 500 officers tasked with seeking out, arresting and removing non-citizens living within our communities and in violation of our immigration law. As of March 2010, 42,262 active immigration warrants existed for non-citizens believed to in Canada illegally, yet whose whereabouts were unknown. With so few officers dedicated to finding these immigration violators, it is no wonder so many have disappeared into the abyss.
So what of this most recent arrival of the MV Sun Sea? Without question, many of the hopeful refugees aboard are in actual fact naive migrants seeking to escape the aftermath of civil war, violence, poverty, prejudice and hardship, eager to start a new life. However, legitimate concerns also exist that among this human cargo are members of the LTTE — a terrorist group known to engage in suicide bombings, recruit child soldiers and violate the human rights of innocent people who refuse to empathise with their cause.
For me, it is not so much who on board is a terrorist or who’s a legitimate refugee. Rather, I want to know what our government really is doing to bring the human smugglers responsible for this tragedy to justice. After all, selling passage aboard a scarcely seaworthy vessel packed with human cargo and sailing it across the Pacific is not only a criminal offence, but a crime against humanity.
Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides for the life imprisonment of human smugglers — yet in reality few are ever identified, let alone prosecuted. If what Minister Toews says is true, and Canada is committed to breaking this globally situated criminal enterprise, much more needs to be done. Ultimately, if the smuggling networks of the world were broken and the criminals involved brought to justice, there would be no concern that future migrant vessels would arrive — after all, if there is no smuggling enterprise, there will be no victims smuggled. As lofty a goal as this may be, Canada, in conjunction with other nations, does have the capacity to significantly curb what has become one of today’s most profitable and prolific transnational crimes.
A recent study conducted at Mount Royal University by myself, Dr. John Winterdyk and other academics from the United States and Europe identified that Canada lags well behind other western democracies when it comes to educating, training and equipping law enforcement officers with the resources needed to meaningfully combat human smuggling. Additionally, because of a lack of transparency on the behalf of government, we identified that Canadians themselves are vastly unaware of just how serious a problem human smuggling has become.
So, in light of the arrival of the MV Sun Sea, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Canada is in fact viewed as an easy access point to North America for human smugglers. I hope that Minister Toews and others government leaders stand behind their commitment to stopping the abuse of our immigration system, and implement reforms that promote our proud tradition of helping those from around the world who legitimately need our protection, yet also effectively take action against the criminals who engage in human smuggling and otherwise exploit our system.
If the status quo prevails, Canada will continue to be a favoured destination for human smugglers, ultimately resulting in tens of thousands more vulnerable and impoverished people falling victim to this growing criminal enterprise. This is an international concern that will require our government to not only make reforms at home, but work with nations abroad to prevent future mass influxes of smuggled asylum seekers.
Kelly Sundberg is an assistant professor in the Department of Justice Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
National Post Article: Tamil Migrants Are Not Getting Support Of Some Canadians.
Tasha Kheiriddin: Respect for a country starts before you cross its borders
Tasha Kheiriddin August 16, 2010 – 2:30 pm
Amnesty International / Reuters
An undated photo of an Australian refugee-detention facility on Christmas Island.
Though the civil war in Sri Lanka ended a year ago, the country and its people still face a difficult future. According to Amnesty International, an estimated 80,000 Sri Lankans remain in refugee camps. 300,000 other displaced people have been resettled, but maintain a precarious existence. While the government there is conducting hearings into human rights violations, it has been criticized by international organizations and other nations, including the United States, for failing to bring justice to victims of the conflict.
This tragic situation is not dissimilar to that experienced in many other places around the globe. Millions of displaced and persecuted people languish in camps, desperate to escape their plight. Victims of war, genocide and other atrocities, they look to nations such as Canada for a safe haven, where they can begin their life anew.
So while the voyage of the latest Tamil migrant ship to our shores may evoke sympathy, it must be recognized for what it is: queue jumping. Instead of going through normal immigration channels, or the refugee admissions process, those aboard the Sun Sea headed for the front of the line, thanks to their wallets. Their voyage appears not to have been a harrowing odyssey, but professionally organized. While one man died before arriving, none of the other passengers appeared to be in ill health; to the contrary, they were apparently well-fed and dressed, and exhibited no serious illnesses.
Cash is the reason they are here, money possibly destined to bankroll a resurgence of the Tamil Tiger terrorists back in Sri Lanka, or at the very least line the pockets of human smugglers. Now these same migrants will be fed, clothed and housed courtesy of the Canadian people, possibly for years until their refugee claims are processed.
But the case of the Sun Sea doesn’t just highlight the fact that Canada is seen as a “soft spot” for illegal migration. It also raises a related issue: the respect that migrants show towards Canada, and fellow Canadians, after they settle here.
Increasingly, Canada is becoming a staging area for imported grievances. To wit: the seemingly endless protests last summer by the Tamil community in downtown Toronto. Instead of voicing their concerns against the real source of their anger — the Sri Lankan government — Tamil Canadians chose to disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who had nothing to do with the conflict. They didn’t just want to raise awareness, they wanted “action” from the Canadian government, though it was unclear what if any effect Ottawa could have on the Sri Lankan civil war, where atrocities were being committed by both sides.
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At one point, Tamil protesters even shut down Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, demanding to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The protesters not only put the security of their own children at risk, by bringing them onto the elevated highway, but trapped hundreds of drivers for several hours. What if some of those people needed to get to the airport or train station, or home to a child left with a babysitter, or God forbid, to a hospital? Did it occur to the Tamil protesters that their behaviour might cross the line from demonstration, to disruption, to outright endangerment?
Apparently not. Protesters were unapologetic for the mayhem they caused. They seemed to feel they had every right to foist their political grievances on their new country, one which had already generously provided them with settlement assistance and the opportunity for a better life. They showed both a serious lack of respect, and a huge sense of entitlement. So why should Canadians now be surprised by the brazen appearance of the Sun Sea?
But the tide may be turning. In response to the ship’s arrival, Public Security Minister Vic Toews has pledged to make it tougher for migrant vessels to land here. This is welcome news. The government should take a hard line in this situation, to prevent its repetition. One option would be to implement the Canadian version of Australia’s “Pacific Solution,” whereby boat-bound migrants were processed offshore before being admitted to the country. This policy substantially curbed the arrival of refugee ships; when it was reversed by Australia’s Labour government several years ago, the number of arrivals promptly skyrocketed and it was recently reinstated.
Canada must send a strong message that the benefits of our nation, including citizenship and our many freedoms, are not to be abused. While new Canadians cannot be expected to leave behind all feeling for their homeland, they should not impose foreign conflicts and unreasonable demands on their adopted country. Maybe if our country is tougher to get into, people will show more respect for it once they are here.
CBC News: Tamil Migrants Say They Are Not Terrorists But Canadian Federal Government Still Investigating!
Tamil migrants: ‘We are not terrorists’
Vessel renovated to fit many passengers and ‘maximize profits,’ Toews says
Last Updated: Monday, August 16, 2010 | 7:52 PM ET Comments558Recommend154
CBC News
Migrants are escorted from the MV Sun Sea at CFB Esquimalt in B.C. on Friday. Letters purportedly written by some migrants deny any involvement with terrorism. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)Letters purportedly written by two of the roughly 490 migrants who arrived in B.C. aboard a cargo ship deny any involvement with terrorism and claim they are fleeing “mass murder” in Sri Lanka.
The Canadian Tamil Congress, which distributed the two letters on Monday, said they were written by two Tamil journalists on board the MV Sun Sea and contain the “opinions expressed” on behalf of the migrants.
IN DEPTH
- FAQ: The refugee process in Canada
- PHOTO GALLERY: MV Sun Sea lands in Canada
The letters claim the ethnic Tamil population in Sri Lanka still faces harsh treatment since the end of the bloody, decades-long civil war between government forces and separatist rebels.
“We would like to ask the Canadian people and the Canadian government to have faith in us to believe that we are innocent civilians who have been affected by the conflict,” one letter obtained by CBC News says.
“We are not terrorists. We would also like to let you know that we will abide and live by the laws of this country.”
The letters also dispute the Sri Lankan government’s claims that the civil war has come to an end, insisting there are “widespread occurrences of disappearances, mass murders and extortion.”
The MV Sun Sea as seen before it was escorted into a B.C. harbour. (DND)“We have travelled for almost four months with much suffering and pain,” one of the letters says.
“We have come here, to this wonderful country Canada, to protect ourselves and our family members from the murders, disappearances and violence that still exist in our native country.”
The Sri Lankan government insists there is “complete peace” in the country following its victory last year over the Tamil rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lanka also claims it went out of its way to minimize civilian casualties during its final advance on rebel-held territory in early 2009.
The Tamil Tigers were outlawed in Canada as a terrorist group in 2006 for their use of child soldiers and suicide bombers during the country’s 25-year civil war, which killed an estimated 70,000 people.
The ship’s passengers include more than 50 women and 50 children. Immigration officials were expected to begin detention review hearings on Monday in Vancouver for the migrants, who arrived in B.C. aboard the cargo ship on Friday.
Vessel fitted to ‘maximize profits’: Toews
Meanwhile on Monday, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the vessel had been extensively renovated to “maximize profits” by accommodating a large number of passengers.
Speaking to reporters in Winnipeg, Toews said the MV Sun Sea was well equipped with sanitation systems to accommodate the migrants for a long voyage.
“It’s not simply 500 people getting onto a boat and coming here as a last-minute thought,” Toews said.
The setup of the vessel suggests a “broader criminal enterprise” involved, including the Tamil Tigers, the minister said.
The minister noted it was “relatively cheap” to purchase and outfit a ship in the current global economy, which made such methods “very profitable” to human smugglers and traffickers.
Evidence also suggests the vessel was a “test boat” intended to gauge the response of the Canadian government, Toews added, but he would not comment on the number of other ships believed headed for Canada.
Despite media reports saying the Sun Sea was turned away from Australia, the intention of the operators of the vessel was always to come to Canada, he said.
The arrival of the ship has stirred an emotional debate in Canada. Many people have wondered why the ship was not turned back, while others have accused the migrants of jumping the immigration queue to hasten their bid for Canadian residency.
Sri Lankan government officials have also chided the Canadian government for not turning away the Sun Sea, saying the money paid to the smugglers by the migrants will go toward the Tamil Tigers’ efforts to regroup.
As a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, Canada is obliged not to send migrants back to their own country if they face persecution there.
Last October, 76 Tamil migrants who arrived in a boat off Vancouver Island claimed refugee status, saying they were fleeing persecution. All were eventually released from custody after allegations that some were linked to the Tamil Tigers were not proven.
Canadian Press Article: The Federal Appeals Court Blocks Same Sex Marriage In California December 6th 2010!
By Lisa Leff (CP) – 1 hour ago
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court put same-sex weddings in California on hold indefinitely Monday while it considers the constitutionality of the state’s gay marriage ban.
The decision, issued by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, trumped a lower court judge’s order that would have allowed county clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Wednesday.
Lawyers for the two gay couples that challenged the ban said Monday they would not appeal the panel’s decision on the stay to the U.S. Supreme Court. They said they were satisfied the appeals court had agreed to expedite its consideration of the Proposition 8 case by scheduling oral arguments for the week of Dec. 6.
“We are very gratified that the 9th Circuit has recognized the importance and the pressing nature of this case by issuing this extremely expedited briefing schedule,” said Ted Boutrous, a member of the plaintiffs’ legal team. “Proposition 8 harms gay and lesbian citizens every day it remains on the books.”
Attorneys for sponsors of the voter-approved measure applauded the decision. In seeking the emergency stay, they had argued that sanctioning same-sex unions while the case was on appeal would create legal chaos if the ban is eventually upheld.
“I think the basic notion that this case is not final until it’s gone through the complete appellate process really prevailed,” said Douglas Napier, a lawyer with the Alliance Defence Fund, a Christian legal firm.
“Rather than have this kind of pingpong effect of having the decision overturned, appealed and then overturned again, it’s better to have this kind of decision,” he said.
Under the timetable laid out Monday, it was doubtful a decision would come down from the 9th Circuit before next year.
A different three-judge panel than the one that issued Monday’s decision will be assigned to decide the constitutional question that many believe will eventually end up before the Supreme Court and further delay a final outcome.
County clerks throughout the state had been preparing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples for the first time since Proposition 8 passed in November 2008. The measure amended the California Constitution to overrule a state Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex unions earlier that year.
“I’m sad, but I’m also glad that I didn’t pay the $100 to reserve an appointment at the clerk’s office,” said Thea Lavin, 31, of San Francisco, who had planned to wed her partner, Jess Gabbert, 30, if the stay were denied. “This has happened so many times before where we take two steps forward, one step back.”
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker had ordered state officials to stop enforcing Proposition 8 beginning late Wednesday afternoon after ruling Aug. 4 that the ban violated the equal protection and due process rights of gays and lesbians guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
The ban’s backers appealed that ruling and also asked the 9th Circuit to block same-sex weddings in the meantime. They claimed in papers filed with the 9th Circuit that gay marriages would harm the state’s interest in promoting responsible procreation through heterosexual marriage.
Walker presided over a 13-day trial earlier this year that was the first in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality.
Currently, same-sex couples can legally wed only in Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.
Lesbian Tennis Doubles Champions Renee Stubbs & Lisa Raymond Are A Doubles Team. However, Lisa & Renee Are Not A Romantic Couple.
According to my sources, I can say with authority that the lesbian doubles champions Lisa Raymond and Renee Stubbs are competing together. However, the information I learned is, Lisa and Renee are not a couple. I think this amazing that Lisa and Renee decided to compete together again despite breaking up! I think it takes a lot of maturity for two people that were once in love to still be friends. Well done Lisa & Renee!
Gayblackcanada 