Join the “No Place Like Home” Chain Fast To Stop Mama Celina’s Deportation August 25 to September 16, 2020

 

We trust that the relevant government officials will find their hearts, use their brains, and exercise some courage to grant Celina Urbanowicz permanent residence and cancel the deportation order against the Ottawa Roma refugee. But only if we help!

 

(Details on how to join the fast are below, as are action you can take even if you are not fasting!)

 

Please pick a day to fast in support of Ottawa Roma refugee Celina Urbanowicz. Despite living here for 23 years, she is fighting deportation to persecution and violence in the brutal political climate of Poland. Amnesty International says she faces “multiple risks on account of their intersectional vulnerabilities stemming from their identity as a Roma woman, wife of a Muslim man, and as the mother of a lesbian woman.”

 

The chain fast (see how to join below) will run for 23 days, to represent each year Celina has lived in Canada without status. It begins on the 81^st anniversary of the release of a most beloved story, The Wizard of Oz. Like Dorothy from Kansas, Celina of Ottawa knows there’s no place like home, and she hopes that the relevant government ministers will, like the Scarecrow, use their brains to see the strength of her case for permanent residence; like the Tin Man, open their hearts to empathize with and end the endless limbo and fear she and her family face every day; and, like the Cowardly Lion, have the courage to do the right thing and grant Celina permanent residence immediately.

 

Fasting has long been a tool to raise awareness both in our communities and within ourselves. When you fast, and your body asks when nutrition will eventually arrive, it is a reminder of a cruel reality. Unlike those of us who fast for a day – and know that what we need for our health is coming soon – for many who hunger for justice, they simply do not know when the decision that will soothe their souls and provide peace of mind will arrive. That uncertainty, which can be indefinite, produces anxiety and trauma. When you fast in support of Celina, it provides moral support and reminds her she is not alone. It also helps spread the word about an injustice that needs to be remedied as soon as possible.

 

BACKGROUND

Over the past month, the Polish government has indicated it will remove itself from the binding Istanbul Convention on fighting violence against women, while across the country, towns and regions are declaring themselves “LGBTQ-free zones” as traditional anti-Roma violence also ramps up. Last week, authorities began a massive crackdown on LGBTQ activists, detaining almost 50 people.

 

Canada has recognized the danger that faces two of Celina’s daughters, who have been granted permanent residence in principle. But why not their mother? The limbo in which Celina and her family live is devastating. The emotional and psychological pain of living with grave uncertainty – never knowing if one morning there will be a knock on the door and government agents will whisk Celina away to deportation – is damaging beyond words. No one should be forced to suffer such cruel conditions.

 

Celina has lived here for 23 years without status because of paperwork problems, legal errors, and other systemic barriers faced by many refugees – in other words, things she had nothing to do with.

 

 

How to participate in the Chain Fast

 

Pick a day (or a series of days) to fast during the 23-day time period and email your name and town to tasc@web.ca A list of open dates and names is available at http://rrrncanada.blogspot.com/2020/08/join-no-place-like-home-chain-fast-to.html. More than one person can fast on the same date.

 

Fast according to your preferred tradition (a full 24 hours, liquids only, sun up to sun down).

 

The fast is open to anyone (you can join even if you are not living in the land known as Canada). Even if you cannot fast, we encourage you to do these actions below!

 

On the day they fast we encourage you to:

 

a.  take a selfie with a simple message (ie, #I Stand With Celina, There’s No Place Like Home: Permanent Residence for Celina, Keep Celina’s Family Together, Stop Celina’s Deportation: Permanent Residence Now!) and share that image via social media, explaining why you are fasting on that day

b.   Write an email (sample below) to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to explain why you are fasting and reinforce the three demands listed above. Emails are: pm@pm.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca, Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca, ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca

c. Write a letter to a local newspaper about why you are fasting, and perhaps link your fast to the larger issues of increasing repression in Poland and other Eastern European countries where Roma, women, and LGBTQ face increasing levels of violence. 

d. Share this link with your friends to auto-generate a letter to the Ministers: https://parkdaleorganize.good.do/justiceforcelina/stop-the-deportation/.  

e. Share this petition: https://www.change.org/p/help-stop-my-mom-s-deportation-to-persecution

Thanks for your support!

 

 

Sample email (feel free to personalize—why is this important to you?)

 

Dear Ministers Mendicino and Blair and PM Trudeau,

I am fasting today to demand immediate permanent residence for Ottawa Roma refugee Celina Urbanowicz and an end to deportation proceedings against her.

As the Government of Canada marked the August 2 Romani Genocide Remembrance Day this year, Roma people (Europe’s largest ethnic minority) continue to face significant levels of persecution, discrimination, and direct violence. Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne and Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth released a statement this year that noted: "Romani populations around the world continue to be subjected to racism, prejudice, violence and persecution, especially Romani women, who endure significant discrimination and social exclusion." Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland took note of the day as well, and vowed "to never again let such atrocities be committed against anyone, anywhere.”

I am writing to urge you to live up to the pledge of “never again” and immediately grant permanent residency to Ottawa Roma refugee Celina Urbanowicz, a mother of five who has lived in Canada for 23 years. I ask you to end the threat of deportation to the cauldron of violence that is Eastern Europe today for Roma people. 

Amnesty International writes that a woman of Celina's profile “would face multiple risks on account of their intersectional vulnerabilities stemming from their identity as a Roma woman, wife of a Muslim man, and as the mother of a lesbian woman.” An expert on Roma history and culture writes  "she will face severe discrimination, extreme persecution and be under imminent fear for her life because she has been condemned as gonime po trajo (‘shunned for life’).”

Canada has pledged itself to respect everything from family reunification to LGBTQ rights and women's rights. All of these commitments would be violated with this deportation. 

The limbo in which Celina and her family live is devastating. The emotional and psychological pain of living with grave uncertainty – never knowing if one morning there will be a knock on the door and government agents will whisk Celina away to deportation – is damaging beyond words. No one should be forced to suffer such cruel conditions.

I urge you to immediately end the deportation proceedings and grant permanent residency for Celina Urbanowicz.

Thank you.

Name, address

 

Fasters

Tuesday, August 25: Hassan Almrei, Toronto, ON; Kevin Watson (India), Andrea Chapman (Ottawa, ON), Justyna Jandzeyak (Romania), Zaneta Tomasewicz (Mississauga, ON), Karin Houte (Ottawa, ON), Zackary Jones
(Ottawa, ON)

Wednesday, August 26: Janaan Dekker, Edmonton, AB; Kevin Watson, India; Lynn Hutchinson Lee, Toronto, ON; Alice-Rose Mik, Ottawa, ON

Thursday, August 27: Crispy Co, Ottawa, ON; Anna Plakina, Aylmer, QC; Kevin Watson, India

Friday, August 28: Mohammad Akbar, Ottawa, ON; Tracy Walton, Colorado Springs, USA;
Kevin Watson, India

Saturday, August 29: Hannah Esmaili, Toronto, ON; Kevin Watson, India

Sunday, August 30: Jozef Konyari, Toronto, ON; Kevin Watson (India)

Monday, August 31: Leslie Solomonian, Toronto, ON; Kevin Watson (India)

Tuesday, September 1: Zulfikar Reese, Bridgehampton, New York; Kevin Watson (India)

Wednesday, September 2: Ria Heynen, Ottawa, ON; Kevin Watson (India)

Thursday, September 3: Josh Hawley, Ottawa, ON; Kevin Watson (India)

Friday, September 4: Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI

Saturday, September 5: mandy hiscocks, Guelph, ON; Sally Wolchyn-Rabb, Halifax  

Sunday, September 6: Jacynthe, Ottawa, ON

Monday, September 7: Pam Macdonald, Smiths Falls, ON

Tuesday, September 8: Lina Muk, Ottawa, ON

Wednesday, September 9, Brian Burch, Toronto, ON

Thursday, September 10: Ann Cognito, Ottawa, ON

Friday, September 11: Katharina Garland, London, ON

Saturday, September 12: Georgia Hendry, Vancouver, BC

Sunday, September 13: mandy hiscocks, Guelph, ON

Monday, September 14: Ann Cognito, Ottawa, ON

Tuesday, September 15: Sharry Aiken, Toronto, ON

Wednesday, September 16: Kinnery Chaparrel, Guelph, ON

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celina Urbanowicz works late into the night every night to make free masks to help people during the pandemic. Thousands have been distributed to hospitals, long-term care homes, and daycares.

Call/Write to Stop Mama Celina’s Deportation: Permanent Residence for Ottawa Roma Refugee Now!

Celina Urbanowicz with some of the thousands of free face masks she has made and distributed during the pandemic for front-line workers and long-term care residents. 

(Sample email/phone message below!)       On, Tuesday, August 4 (or whenever you receive this), please write/call Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino (IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca , 613-992-6361, 416-781-5583) to demand that he save the life of Ottawa Roma refugee Celina Urbanowicz, who faces deportation to what Amnesty International says is persecution, discrimination, violence, and the threat of death.

It is disturbing that the Canadian government is trying to deport her when they have already recognized that two of Celina’s daughters face the same risks as Roma women and, as a result, have been accepted in principle for permanent residency. It is unacceptable that this threat of family break-up hangs over their heads. (The intended country of deportation, Poland, is notorious for its violations of women's rights and LGBTQ rights. A third of Polish communities have declared themselves “LGBTQ-free zones,” and the Polish government has indicated it will withdraw from The Istanbul Convention, a treaty aimed at ending violence against women. Celina is a survivor of male violence against women from her first marriage.)

Even as she faces the bleak cloud of deportation, Mama Celina spends every night working late to make free face masks for front-line workers and seniors' home residents affected by the pandemic. She isn’t doing this for any special favours. This is just who she is. You can see her being interviewed here: https://globalnews.ca/news/7058588/coronavirus-immigration-refugees/  and https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/making-cloth-masks-is-a-family-affair-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-1.4938230

Mama Celina is helping save other people’s lives. It is time we step up to help save hers.

(The family fled the war zone of Yugoslavia and came to Canada as refugees in 1997. Because of paperwork problems, legal errors, and other systemic barriers faced by refugees – in other words, things they had nothing to do with – they have lived in Canada for 23 years with no status.)

Sample email (feel free to personalize this as well!)

Subject Line: Permanent Residence for Celina Urbanowicz Now: Stop the Deportation

To: IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca
Cc:   Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca,

Dear Ministers Mendicino and Blair,

As the Government of Canada marks the August 2 Roma Genocide Remembrance Day, Roma people (Europe’s largest ethnic minority) continue to face significant levels of persecution, discrimination, and direct violence. Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland marked this day by noting both that "Romani women, especially, still face significant discrimination and social exclusion,” and vowed "to never again let such atrocities be committed against anyone, anywhere.”

I am writing to urge you to live up to the pledge of “never again” and immediately grant permanent residency to Ottawa Roma refugee Celina Urbanowicz, a mother of five who has lived in Canada for 23 years. I ask you to end the threat of deportation to the cauldron of violence that is Eastern Europe today for Roma people. 

Amnesty International writes that a woman of Celina's profile “would face multiple risks on account of their intersectional vulnerabilities stemming from their identity as a Roma woman, wife of a Muslim man, and as the mother of a lesbian woman.” An expert on Roma history and culture writes  "she will face severe discrimination, extreme persecution and be under imminent fear for her life because she has been condemned as gonime po trajo (‘shunned for life’).”

Canada has pledged itself to respect everything from family reunification to LGBTQ rights and women's rights. All of these commitments would be violated with this deportation. 

The limbo in which Celina and her family live is devastating. The emotional and psychological pain of living with grave uncertainty – never knowing if one morning there will be a knock on the door and government agents will whisk Celina away to deportation – is damaging beyond words. No one should be forced to suffer such cruel conditions.

I urge you to immediately end the deportation proceedings and grant permanent residency for Celina Urbanowicz.

Thank you.

Name, address

 
Sample phone message (leave one if you get the answering machine)

Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm calling from TOWN, PROVINCE. I’m calling to ask that you stop the deportation of Ottawa Roma Refugee Celina Urbanowicz and grant her immediate permanent residency. When Amnesty international recognizes that Celina will face persecution, discrimination, violence, and the threat of death, the government of Canada needs to listen and act appropriately. Your government has granted permanent residency in principle to two of Celina's daughters, who face the same threats if deported. You need to do the same for their Mama Celina as well. Thank you."

Facebook event to share: https://www.facebook.com/events/701794977036405/

Petition to share: https://www.change.org/p/help-stop-my-mom-s-deportation-to-persecution

Thanks for your support!

Matthew Behrens

Rural Refugee Rights Network

Join the Chain Fast to Bring Home Rosena (12), Amaika (8), and their fragile father Sebastien (69)

Join the Chain Fast to Bring Home Covid-Threatened Family: Rosena (12), Amaika (8), and their fragile father Sebastien (69)

Fast for a day in June for Justice for this Covid-Threatened Family 

Email tasc@web.ca with your preferred date(s). See the list of dates below for open dates.

BACKGROUND

On April 8, 2020, Sebastien De Marre, a Canadian citizen vulnerable to COVID-19, was offered a flight home from Haiti. But he refused to board because his two Haitian-born daughters (Rosena Luz Saint Louis, aged 12, and Amaika Clairazur Celestin, aged 8) were denied permission to come with him. He could not abandon these young girls in a country where they have no one to care for them, and so now all of their health is at risk.

Despite almost two months of desperate pleas to reunite the family, intensive lobbying, and the extensive submission of application materials to allow these two girls and their adoptive father  to come back to Canada from Haiti, the federal government is continuing to place all three lives at risk by failing to do the right thing.

Beginning June 1, we are starting a chain fast to put further pressure on Ottawa to immediately issue Temporary Resident Permits so that Rosena and Amaika (both of them rescued as babies and raised to health over the past decade by Sebastien and his spouse, Marie Paule) can get on a plane and come back to the relative safety of their parents’ BC home until the crisis is over.

(Further background available at https://www.change.org/p/urgent-bring-at-risk-father-and-young-daughters-8-and-12-home-to-canada) 

You can pick a day to fast and help advocate for this humanitarian solution.

How to Participate in the Chain Fast

Pick a day (or a series of days) to fast throughout the month of June and email your name and town to tasc@web.ca A list of open dates and names is below. More than one person can fast on the same date.

Fast according to your preferred tradition (a full 24 hours, liquids only, sun up to sun down).

The fast is open to anyone (you can join even if you are not living in the land known as Canada)

On the day they fast we encourage you to:

a.  Take a selfie with a simple message (ie, #TwoTRPs, Save Sebastien, Rosena, and Amaika, Fasting for Justice: Bring Rosena, Amaika, and Sebastien Home, etc) and share that image via social media, explaining why you are fasting on that day

b.   Write an email to Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino (IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca  and cc pm@pm.gc.ca, Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca, ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca, Soraya.MartinezFerrada@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca to explain why you are fasting and reinforce the demand that Temporary Resident Permits for Rosena and Amaika be issue so they can come home with their father, Sebastien.  You can also call Mendicino’s office at 613-992-6361 and 416-781-5583) (Sample email and phone message at bottom)

c. Write a letter to a local newspaper about why you are fasting, and why the government needs to act quickly to save three lives.

d. If you have the time, make a sign and vigil for an hour or two in front of where you live (respecting social distancing), and take a selfie or video of what you are doing.  

Sign up for a day!

June 1, Hassan Almrei, Toronto, ON; Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL 

June 2, Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI, Murray Lumley, Toronto

June 3, June Savard, Toronto, ON

June 4, Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC

June 5, Dr. Leslie Solomonian, Toronto, ON

June 6, Caterina Lindman, Waterloo, ON; Jozef Konyari, Toronto, ON

June 7, Sylvia Smith, Ottawa, ON

June 8, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL 

June 9, Murray Lumley, Toronto

June 10, Ed Babb, Burlington, ON

June 11, Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC

June 12, Luke Stocking, Toronto, ON

June 13, Lyn Adamson, Toronto, ON

June 14, Pam Macdonald, Smiths Falls, ON
June 15, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL 

June 16, Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
June 17

June 18,Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC
 June 19

June 20, Jozef Konyari, Toronto, ON

June 21

June 22, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL 

June 23, Murray Lumley, Toronto

June 24

June 25, Sam Simpson, Winlaw, BC

June 26

June 27

June 28

June 29, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL 

June 30, Murray Lumley, Toronto

Sample email
Subject Line: Please Issue Temporary Resident Permits to Rosena Luz Saint Louis, aged 12, and Amaika Clairazur Celestin, aged 8
To: IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca
Cc: Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca, Soraya.MartinezFerrada@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca

Dear Minister Mendicino,
I am writing to demand that you exercise your power under Section 25.1 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Humanitarian and compassionate considerations) to issue Temporary Resident Permits to Rosena Luz Saint Louis, aged 12, and Amaika Clairazur Celestin, aged 8, of Jacmel, Haiti, so they can accompany their fragile father Sebastien De Marre home to Canada and be reunited with their mother, Marie-Paule. 

As you likely know from the news, the situation in Haiti – the country in the Americas least able to handle the pandemic – is deteriorating rapidly. All family members are at grave risk.
Your office has issued similar permits to other Canadian parents, allowing them to bring adopted Haitian kids to Canada. The children’s application for permits – with all the necessary supporting documents that show what a loving, strong family they are – was sent to your office April 24, 2020. The family has been trying to resolve this matter since the beginning of April.

There is nothing complicated in this request. You can issue a permit immediately. Failure to do so will have tragic consequences. Should Sebastien succumb to COVID-19, the girls will be left abandoned in a country where they are ripe for sexual exploitation. This is unacceptable and easily preventable.

(Feel free to add in a personal statement at the end—ie, “As a parent, I cannot imagine the impossible choice before Sebastien right now” or “People’s lives should not be at risk because of bureaucratic paperwork issues”, etc.

Your Name
Address

Sample phone message (leave one if you get the answering machine)
Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm calling from TOWN, PROVINCE. I’m calling to support Sebastien De Marre and his two daughters, Rosena and Amaika. The girls need Temporary Resident Permits immediately to escape Haiti, where the COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly and threatening all of them. Please issue the permits today so they can get on a plane with their dad and be reunited with their mom in Canada. It's the right thing to do. Thank you."

Dozens Join Hunger Strike in Support of Pregnant Ottawa Syrian Refugee Fighting Deportation

For Immediate Release
Rural Refugee Rights Network
(613) 267-3998

Dozens Join Hunger Strike in Support of Pregnant Ottawa Syrian Refugee Fighting Deportation

Almost three dozen people across the country will launch a chain-fast hunger strike on Friday, May 20 in support of Ottawa's Dima Siam, a pregnant, stateless Palestinian Syrian refugee who is fighting a deportation order to Syria. They are demanding that the federal government grant her the same permanent resident status now enjoyed by over 25,000 recent Syrian arrivals.

        "Until the start of Ramadan in June, many of us will be fasting for one or more days to demand that Immigration Minister John McCallum intervene in this case and do the right thing by granting her status, ending the fear and nightmares her family experience on a daily basis with this limbo they live under," says fast organizer Matthew Behrens of the Rural Refugee Rights Network. A petition launched by Behrens in support of Dima Siam has gathered almost 22,000 signatures, yet the Liberal government continues to delay action on the file. (See petition at https://www.change.org/p/john-mccallum-grant-syrian-refugee-and-ottawa-resident-dima-siam-permanent-residency-in-canada)

        "We are doing this because we heard Dima was so desperate that she herself was about to start a hunger strike," continues Behrens. "That's how desperate she and thousands of others who live in a stateless limbo in this country are feeling. Every single hour of every single day. How do they begin to move forward with their lives never knowing what will happen to them? The limbo just makes worse the trauma they already experienced living in the Alyarmouk Camp south of Damascus, from which they came to Canada in late 2012."

        Amnesty International has written in support of Ms Siam, noting, "As a Syrian woman Dima Siam faces a wide range of serious human rights abuses in Syria,” adding, “anyone fleeing Syria should be considered in need of international protection.”

Dima Siam's three Canadian children: "Our Mum is Our Sun Who Lights Our Days"
 
    Dima Siam's oldest child also made a personal plea to the Prime Minister on his mother's birthday, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJiuvpINqMc

        Dima Siam is married to a Canadian citizen and they have three Canadian children who are worried that they might lose their mother. The children are experiencing anxiety and behavioural issues at school and, when at home, never play alone in a room for fear that if they are not with their mother, she may be scooped up by immigration authorities and deported to the war zone of Syria.

        Ms Siam, a teacher, currently has a Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) Application before the Liberal government, but she has been informed that it may not even be examined until nine months from now, after the baby is born, because they are demanding an Xray for her health check.  Ms Diam has passed all other requirements for landed status in Canada. While public pressure has brought about waiving the first stage of the H&C process, and the Minister has offered (but not delivered) a temporary resident permit (without which Dima cannot access OHIP during her pregnancy), the family is exhausted from three years of applications, thousands in fees, and no guarantee that the latest application will be approved without immediate ministerial intervention.

        Despite these frustrations, the family takes some heart from the mass of support they have received from people across the country. "Your solidarity feels like a remedy to my broken heart," Siam wrote in a statement to supporters.  "It gives some hope to see there is still humanity left in Canada."

        Siam's problems all stem from a minor 2013 paperwork error on her original sponsorship application; the delay in seeking landed status was exacerbated by the feds wrongly issuing her an application for a pre-removal risk assessment, which they then, one year later, refused to act upon because they said they couldn't.

        "We have been sent to the hospital emergency room from panic attacks, we are depressed, this is ruining our family," says Mohammad Al-Rayyan, a systems engineer who is scratching his head about the difficulties that have befallen his family. "The Trudeau government has done good things welcoming Syria refugees. When they sent the latest people overseas to get more refugees, we asked if they would come to Nepean on their way out of town, interview Dima, and make a decision right then and there, like they do in Jordan or Lebanon. No response. And so we wait."

        To arrange an interview with the family or for more information, call (613) 267-3998 or email tasc@web.ca

Those taking part in the chain fast:

Friday, May 20, Michelle Chamberlain, Peterborough, ON, Brenda Dolling, Caledon, Ontario, Mary Ann Higgs, Kingston, ON, Fahad Alam, Naseer,
Saturday, May 21, Mary Cowper-Smith, PEI, Caitlin, Tracy Carnahan, Friya Bastani, Mississauga, ON
Sunday, May 22, Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON, B. Machado,
Monday, May 23, Myriam Faraj, Joanna Badran, Eric Unger, Winnipeg, MB
Tuesday, May 24, Kheft Kaligari, Winnipeg, MB, Ora Waldman
Wednesday, May 25,  Heather Barclay,
Thursday, May 26, Nora Azfam,
Friday, May 27, Mary Ann Higgs, Kingston, ON, Amenda Walton, St. Catharines, ON
Saturday, May 28, Matthew Behrens, Perth, ON
Sunday, May 29, Kim Jackson,
Monday, May 30, Dwyer Sullivan, Kitchener, Ontario, Anna Malla, Toronto, ON, Eric Unger, Winnipeg, MB
Tuesday, May 31, Matthew Behrens, Perth, ON
Tuesday, May 31, Màire Ní Bhroin                   
Wednesday, June 1, Judith Mills
Thrsday, June 2, Marcia Perryman and Mary McBride, Belleville, ON
Friday, June 3, Mary Ann Higgs, Kingston, ON
Saturday, June 4
Sunday, June 5, Christine Rhodes
Monday, June 6, Fatema Nakhuda, Toronto, ON, Karen Madsen, Eric Unger, Winnipeg, MB

Grant Syrian Refugee and Ottawa Resident Dima Siam Permanent Residency in Canada

Please sign this petition to allow a stateless Syrian refugee permanent residency in Canada: https://www.change.org/p/john-mccallum-grant-syrian-refugee-and-ottawa-resident-dima-siam-permanent-residency-in-canada

Dima Siam, left, with her husband Mohammad and their three children, is fighting deportation from Canada to Syria because of a simple paperwork error. We are seeking the same status for Dima Siam as was recently granted to 25,000 other Syrian refugees welcomed to Canada: permanent residency.

(Below is the text of the petition)
To: John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Arif Virani, Parliamentary Secretary to Mr. McCallum; Jenny Kwan, NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

We are asking you to grant immediate Permanent Resident status to Dima Siam, a stateless Syrian Palestinian who lives in Ottawa with her husband and three children, all of whom are Canadian citizens.

Since January 29, 2015, Dima Siam, a teacher with university degrees in education and biology, has lived under the threat of deportation from Canada to Syria, the very war zone from which Canada has recently received 25,000 refugees. Amnesty International writes: “As a Syrian woman Dima Siam faces a wide range of serious human rights abuses in Syria,” adding, “anyone fleeing Syria should be considered in need of international protection.”

You can provide Dima Siam with that protection by exercising your discretion under Section 25.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and granting her the same Permanent Resident status enjoyed by over 25,000 Syrians recently welcomed to Canada. You have shown compassion and common sense in resolving cases like Dima Siam’s that were left over from the previous government, and we trust you will do so once more upon considering the facts of this case.

Needless to say, the threat of deportation to Syria, where Dima Siam would be at risk from all sides of the conflict, is psychological torture. It has resulted in depression, family stress – especially for the young children, who fear they too will be deported and who won’t stay in a room unless one of their parents is constantly with them – emergency room visits via ambulance, and a range of other afflictions due to a life of constant fear and uncertainty.

While a letter outlining the chronology of this case has been sent to your office, we wish to point out to you that Dima Siam finds herself in limbo because of a simple paperwork error, an honest misinterpretation of one checkbox on her sponsorship form, which was filled out by her husband, Mohammad. When Dima and Mohammad were called in to see an Immigration officer more than 20 MONTHS after it was submitted, they were informed their application could only proceed if they repaid a modest amount of social assistance that the family had received when the application was submitted.

 Despite meeting the Immigration Officer’s requirement of paying back the social assistance, on January 29, 2015, Dima Siam’s sponsorship application was rejected, and she then received a letter with this ominous demand: “You are currently in Canada without status and you must leave immediately.”

Needless to say, they were devastated. How could Canada send anyone back to Syria based on a checkbox error? What’s worse, in February, 2015, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) called Dima Siam in to fill out a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA), which the family took great pains to produce and submit. After waiting almost an additional stressful year for a decision (one in which the stress resulted in emergency room hospital visits), they were told the CBSA would NOT review the PRRA application because it was issued to the family in error. When the government makes a mistake that results in an additional year of excruciating limbo and thousands in expenses, the only ones who pay the price are Dima Siam and her family.

Canadian courts and tribunals have long recognized that there will be instances where the strict, inflexible application of the rules in an individual case would be unjust and harsh, and the case of Dima Siam is certainly one of them (see, for example, Hajariwala v M.E.I., [1988] F.C.J. No. 1021, where the Federal Court of Canada recognized “The purpose of the [immigration] statute is to permit immigration, not prevent it.” See also Baker v. MCI [1999] S.C.J. No. 39, at para. 53-74, where the Supreme Court of Canada declared: “immigration officers are expected to make the decision that a reasonable person would make, with special consideration of humanitarian values such as keeping connections between family members and avoiding hardship by sending people to places where they no longer have connections.”)

While we are pleased to welcome 25,000 Syrian refuges to this country, we believe that Canada must also immediately end the limbo faced by Dima Siam and hundreds of other Syrian refugees facing deportation FROM Canada back TO Syria. They should be granted permanent resident status leading to citizenship so they can properly access health care, educational opportunities, and employment.

A positive first step will be the immediate resolution of the Dima Siam case, allowing her and her family to lift the weight of fear and terror that hangs over their heads with Canada’s threat to deport her to Syria based on an honest paperwork error.

We look forward to reading you have granted Dima Siam permanent residency and that your government will consider a similar solution for hundreds of other Syrians facing similar challenges.

Help Santa Claus Reunite 4-Year-old Daksh Sood with his Ottawa Parents

Help Santa Claus Reunite 4-Year-old Daksh Sood with his Ottawa Parents

Friends,

This holiday season, please help one Ottawa couple who have been struggling for three years to be reunited with their now 4-year-old boy, Daksh Sood. Under the Harper government, Daksh, then aged 1, was barred from Canada because of a simple, honest paperwork error. The Canadian visa office in India has twice refused to handle the case for ridiculous reasons (including a suggestion that Daksh, at 4 years old, apply to come here as a skilled worker!) Media stories on the case are listed at the bottom of this email.

The new Liberal government has promised to make family reunification a priority. This case is as good a place to start as any. Depriving a young boy of his parents goes against the stated purposes of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Daksh's parents, Bhavna Bajaj and Aman Sood, are hoping for the kind of Christmas present that not even Santa Claus can deliver: a temporary resident permit (TRP) to be issued to Daksh no later than December 26. (Right now, Daksh's father, Aman, is in India until that date, and hoping that when he returns, Daksh will be with him.)

HOW YOU CAN HELP (ACTIONS TO TAKE BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER 24)
1. Sign and share on facebook and twitter the petition at https://www.change.org/p/allow-4-year-old-daksh-to-live-in-canada-with-his-parents-minister-mccallum-must-issue-immediate-temporary-resident-permit-to-reunite-family

2. Email Immigration Minister John McCallum and Parliamentary Secretary Arif Virani, as well as Prime Minister Trudeau  at john.mccallum@parl.gc.ca, justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca and cc tasc@web.ca asking that they grant a temporary resident permit (TRP) for 4-year-old Daksh Sood no later than December 26. Explain that Daksh's father has been visiting this month, and is ready to bring him home. Explain why this is just the right thing to do.

3. Call Immigration Minister John McCallum's office at 613-996-3374 and Parliamentary Secrtary Arif Virani at 613-992-2936 and tell them that you are requesting that the Minister issue a special Christmas present: a temporary resident permit (TRP) for Daksh Sood. Please be polite as staff there are very nice. Please let us know at tasc@web.ca what the reaction has been.

4. If you are in Ottawa, join Santa Claus and the elves on Tuesday, December 22 at 11:45 am at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office at Elgin and Wellington as they deliver over 11,000 signatures on petitions calling for Daksh Sood to be brought to Canada.

I have known and worked with this hard-working Ottawa couple for a year, and can speak directly to the sadness and emptiness they carry with them: all of their dreams are based on a life together in Canada, and that dream will not be fulfilled until their son is reunited with them in Ottawa.

Thanks for your help!

Matthew Behrens
The Rural Refugee Rights Network


More at:

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-couple-granted-permanent-residency-in-canada-but-young-son-stuck-in-india <http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-couple-granted-permanent-residency-in-canada-but-young-son-stuck-in-india

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/good-and-bad-news-for-young-indian-boy-separated-from-parents

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/adami-parents-wonder-if-their-son-4-will-ever-be-reunited-with-them-in-canada