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| BACKGROUND
TO THE CASE OF WENDY MAXWELL |
[From http://www.supportwendy.com]
On Saturday March 5th at the International Women's Day rally at Jorgenson
Hall at Ryerson University, a woman was arrested by 51 Division
officers
while selling cookies to raise money for CKLN Community Radio. Her
crime:
living in Canada without Immigration status. Wendy Maxwell, also
known as
Nzinga, is now in jail at the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton. She
could be deported at any time.
Nzinga is a talented and strong Black Woman who is an active member of our
community. Many who have met her either as a colleague, friend, or
through her community work admire her tenacity and humility. These
are
the type of people our community needs. Born in Costa Rica, she is a
woman of Jamaican descent who has had to contend with police
repression,
the violence of organized crime, and now the racism of Citizenship
and
Immigration Canada. After six productive years in Canada and
continuous
community involvement, she faces imminent deportation to a dangerous
and
uncertain future even though she has an application for landed
status
filed with Immigration Canada that has yet to be adjudicated.
Nzinga faces serious risk if forced back to Costa Rica. She was once
picked up by the Costa Rican police, well known for racially
profiling
Black people, and sexually assaulted by them. She also faces risk as
a
bisexual woman from the police, whose homophobia is well documented.
One Costa Rican research group states that "lesbian women are
exhaustively
searched in round-ups at clubs frequented by gays and lesbians and are
also subject to aggression, physical abuse and robbery by the police
who,
in most cases, claim they were looking for drugs". Added to
this, she
faces serious risk from a dangerous Costa Rican gang which she has
had
dealings with in the past. Given the homophobic and racist nature of
the
police, it is to be expected that she will not be able to obtain
protection from them against this gang. Nzinga is still coping with
serious Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (documented by Psychologists
at
the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre and other clinics) due to the abuse
she
experienced in Costa Rica. Sending her back will re-inflame her
psychological problems and stop her healing process.
Despite this, Immigration Canada determined that she would not be at risk
if deported and ordered her to fly back to Costa Rica on December 1,
2003. She was forced to go "underground" and filed a
humanitarian and
compassionate leave application for status soon after that (in
February
of 2004) on the basis of risk and establishment.
Nzinga has worked tirelessly in the community as a volunteer at CKLN 88.1
FM Community Radio. She has also worked with the Latin American
Coalition
to end Violence Against Women (now called MUJER), the Barbara
Schlifer
Commemorative Clinic, the Ralph Thornton Community Centre as a
network
administrator's assistant, the Global African Congress, and as an
outreach worker with the Black Coalition for Aids Prevention (BlackCAP).
Her work is also being published in "A New Look at Heterosexism
and
Homophobia" being put out in collaboration with the McGill
University for
the Canadian Aids Society. She has been employed through out her 6
years
in Canada.
JOIN THE STRUGGLE TO SUPPORT WENDY MAXWELL YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED!
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