A POPULAR
MOBILIZATION AGAINST DEPORTATION OF PALESTINIANS FROM CANADA
On Saturday September 18th more than 1,000 people took the streets of downtown
Montreal under the banner of "Stateless and Deported" to illustrate
the growing popular support for the struggle of Palestinian refugees fighting
deportation in Canada, within the context of the Palestinian solidarity movement
worldwide. The lively and spirited demonstration was also held to commemorate
the thousands of Palestinian refugees who lost their lives in the September 1982
massacre of Sabra and Chatila during the Israeli invasion of Beirut.
The demonstration kicked-off with speeches, slogans and traditional Palestinian
music and proceeded down Ste-Catherine Street, occupying multiple city blocks in
Montreal's downtown core, lead by a large banner which read "Refugee Camps
are No One's Home", carried by directly effected Palestinian refugees
facing deportation at the hands of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), to
the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon.
Spirited chants and slogans such as
"Racists Out! - Palestinians In!", resonated throughout the streets of
downtown Montreal and were lead-by directly effected Palestinian refugees active
with the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, such as
Fouad Sakr an elderly Palestinian refugee facing deportation in the coming
months to Ein El-Helweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon and Youssef Elloubani a
Palestinian refugee from Bourj El Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut.
The demonstration was diverse in nature and
included visible support of many self-organized groups of refugees fighting
deportation in Montreal, who are active with the Solidarity Across Borders
Campaign. The demonstration also included the full-scope of groups who have been
active within the Palestinian solidarity movement in Montreal since the
beginning of the second Intifada, highlighting the seamless link between the
struggle of Palestinian refugees in Montreal against deportations and the
broader struggle for Palestinian freedom and liberation throughout the world.
Saturday's demonstration ended at Complexe Guy-Favreau,
headquarters of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) --- the institution
directly responsible for the rejection of Palestinian refugee claims --- with a
free food serving from local Montreal activists and speeches from groups &
organizations which actively mobilized for the demonstration, including Sanjiv
Kumar of the recently formed Human Rights Action Committee (HARC), Bruce Katz of
Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine, Hicham Salfiti of the Canadian
Palestinian Foundation and Rabie Masri the spokesperson of the Coalition Against
the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees.
This past Saturday's demonstration highlighted the political importance of the
struggle of Palestinian refugees in Montreal and throughout Canada who continue
to struggle against deportation and fight for their status. It is within this
context that the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees plans
to intensify the fight against Citizenship and Immigration Canada in the coming
months. We must continue to stand united in the struggle against the deportation
of Palestinian refugees from Canada!
The Coalition against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal can
be reached via Tel: 514 591 3171, E-mail: refugees@riseup.net, Web: http://refugees.resist.ca.
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