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http://www.alternatives.ca
Thu June 26, 2003,
by:
Andrew
ELKIN
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Photo :
Josée Lambert
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Many
Palestinians waiting for their refugee claims to be heard compare going to court
to playing the lottery : sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you
know the odds aren't in your favour.
"Some
judges reject 95 percent of the claims that come before them, while others
accept almost everyone they see," said Rabie Masri, member of the Coalition
Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees. "The refugees joke about
it being a 'scratch-and-win' situation," Masri said.
These and other
discrepancies in the results of Palestinian refugee cases drove the refugees and
their supporters to establish the Coalition, as a formal way to question the
processes of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and demand changes.
The process of
claiming refugee status is a long one. Refugees can wait as long as 18 months
before their hearing, enough time to get settled into a new life. If the claim
is not successful, the refugee can appeal, a process that may take up to nine
more months.
If the appeal
fails, the deportation process kicks into its slow motion. Refugees faced with
deportation may wait up to nine months before they are forced to leave. During
the wait refugees can attempt a last-gasp measure called the Pre-Removal Risk
Assessment. This offers a reprieve to those who can present new evidence
indicating a return to their homeland may threaten their well-being.
The IRB is
supposed to evaluate claims based on their validity within the terms of the 1951
Geneva Conventions, but the coalition accuses some IRB members of
misinterpreting or overlooking the Conventions entirely.
"The
Geneva conventions say that anyone persecuted for their religion, ethnic group
or political ideology can claim refugee status," Masri explained. "The
problem is that the interpretation of 'persecution' is left up to the members of
the IRB."
Top
In one specific
example, Masri said that the cases of two brothers went before different IRB
members. Though the two young men came from the same refugee camp, the same
conditions, the same home, one had his claim rejected, the other had his
accepted.
The IRB's own
web site explains that "The setting and procedures for hearings are
relatively informal and therefore, evidence presented and accepted is not
restricted by technical or legal rules of evidence." This reflects the
Coalition's assertion that the process lacks uniformity.
"They
don't question them on the reality of the persecution in the camps of Lebanon
and Palestine," Masri said. "Instead the hearings are a attack on the
claimant's credibility."
"They ask
you very specific questions," said one refugee who requested anonymity. An
engineering graduate from the camps in Lebanon, where the law prohibits him from
working, his initial claim was rejected and he now awaits a decision on his
appeal. "It's like an interrogation. If you make one mistake under all this
pressure, they take it as an excuse to say you are not credible."
The questions
can border on the obscure and the irrelevant, the refugee said. He said one
judge asked a refugee to name the colour of a line that appears on an
immigration form. Another colleague, he claims, was asked his opinion on the
Oslo Accords.
Masri agrees
that the burden of proof is on the person claiming refugee status, but questions
to the tactlessness of some IRB members. "In their statements, some members
of the IRB are extremely insensitive. So, to an observer, the impression is that
the refugees are being judged by people who are insensitive to their
situation."
Masri said the
Coalition has been contacting various levels of government to get their point
across : "This is an injustice, and these people should be taken
seriously." The Coalition has also networked with grassroots and community
organizations to spread their message, and have had no fewer than 45 groups
endorse their campaign.
The Coalition
is demanding that all deportations of Palestinian refugees stop and that their
claims be accepted. As for those who are already playing against time in the
appeals and deportation processes, their future is less clear than ever.
"It is not
easy," said the anonymous refugee. "When you spend your whole life on
the run, looking for a home, it doesn't makes sense to go back. We are very
lucky to have made it this far, because there are thousands who want to
escape."
Andrew Elkin,
Alternative Media Intern
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