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SOLIDARITY WITH AHMAD NAFAA
- STATELESS PALESTINIAN REFUGEE FACING
DEPORTATION TUESDAY! COME OUT TO IMMIGRATION CANADA'S JAIL TO EXPOSE THE
REALITIES OF DETENTION & DEPORTATION!
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VISIT TO LAVAL DETENTION CENTRE IN SUPPORT OF AHMAD NAFAA
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 28
MEET IN FRONT OF CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY @ 12:00PM
(Hall Building, 1455 de Maisonneuve West)
OR DIRECTLY AT THE "IMMIGRATION PREVENTION CENTRE" @ 1:30 PM
200 Montée St-François, Laval, Québec
Directions : 15 North, Exit 440 East, Exit Montée St François, turn
right at stop sign on Montée St-François
There will be transportation available from Concordia for those who need
it. However, if you have access to a vehicle, please bring it to
Concordia!
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At this crucial time your solidarity with Ahmad Nafaa is needed.
Ahmad
is currently being held in Citizenship & Immigration Canada's jail -
the
'Immigration Prevention Centre' in Laval.
Ahmad, detained on Tuesday evening, has just received a deportation
order for Tuesday, November 30. The Immigration & Refugee Board
refused
to release Ahmad following a detention review hearing held today. An
application has been made to the Federal Court seeking a stay of removal
for Ahmad. However, there is no obligation for the court to hear this
application and Ahmad can be deported Tuesday, or earlier, regardless.
Ahmed will be deported to Ein el Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon, via the
US. According to lawyers in the US, Ahmad faces a very high
likelihood
of indefinite detention there simply because he is young, Palestinian
and male.
It is therefore a crucial time to show solidarity with Ahmad and expose
Immigration Canada's inhumane detention system to the media and the
public. Come out to visit Ahmad at Immigration Canada's jail on Sunday!
The fight against Immigration Canada's efforts to deport Ahmad must
continue!!
Also, on Monday, November 29-the United Nations International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian people and the eve of George W. Bush's
first visit to Ottawa-a demonstration against the deportation of
Palestinian refugees, and in solidarity with Ahmad Nafaa and the
Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, will take place in Ottawa.
At 2:00 pm, we will meet on the lawn of the Supreme Court (301
Wellington St. [Corner of Kent & Wellington]. And, at a press
conference
on Parliament Hill @ 10:30am on Monday, Pat O'Brien (Liberal MP), Bill
Siksay (NDP Immigration Critic), Meili Faille (Bloc Quebecois
Immigration Critic) will also speak in support of Ahmad and against his
deportation back to a refugee camp in Lebanon.
A bus will leave Montreal for Ottawa @ 9:00 AM the 29th from the Hall
Building of Concordia University. Phone (514) 591-3171 or email
refugees@riseup.net to reserve a
spot.
CONTINUE THE FIGHT TO FREE AHMAD! COME OUT TO IMMIGRATION CANADA'S JAIL
ON SUNDAY! COME TO OTTAWA TO DEMONSTRATE ON MONDAY! YOUR SUPPORT &
SOLIDARITY IS CRUCIAL!!
For more information, contact the Coalition Against the Deportation of
Palestinian Refugees:
Email: refugees@riseup.net
Phone: 514.591.3171
http://refugees.resist.ca
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PLEASE CONTINUE TO CALL, FAX and EMAIL
THE MINISTER OF IMMIGRATION
CALL / FAX / EMAIL the Minister of Immigration & as many of the CIC
officials listed at the bottom of the sample letter as you can:
WHEN YOU CALL, DEMAND THE FOLLOWING TWO THINGS:
1) Ahmad Nafaa be released from Laval Detention Center immediately;
2) Ahmad Nafaa be granted a stay of deportation, until his Humanitarian
and Compassionate application is processed.
For more information, contact the Coalition Against the Deportation of
Palestinian Refugees:
Email: refugees@riseup.net
Phone: 514.591.3171
http://refugees.resist.ca
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SAMPLE LETTER:
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada
CIC National Headquarters
365 Laurier, Jean Edmonds South Tower,
21st Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Fax: (613) 947-8319
Phone: (613) 954-1064
Minister@cic.gc.ca
Sgro.J@parl.gc.ca
RE : STATELESS PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AHMAD NAFAA (4277-4326)
Honourable Judy Sgro,
AHMAD NAFAA has been detained by Canada's Border Services Agency. His
deportation is imminent. We, therefore, respectfully request that, as
Citizenship and Immigration Minister, you immediately order a stay of
removal, thereby suspending Mr. Nafaa's deportation until his
application on compassionate and humanitarian grounds can been
considered.
Though the general control and supervision of enforcement and removals
has been transferred to the portfolio of the Solicitor General, it
remains at the discretion of Immigration Officers to issue a stay of
removal. The Officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada being
possessed of the authority to issue a stay of removal, we respectfully
request that this authority be exercised immediately with respect to
Ahmad Nafaa.
Mr. Nafaa was born a stateless Palestinian in Ein El-Hilweh refugee camp
in Lebanon. Fear, poverty and persecution are daily facts of life in the
Ein El-Hilweh camp, and the present and future are grim for resident
Palestinians. They are banned from an ever-expanding number of trades
and professions. Unemployment among them, as a result, is extremely
high. Poverty rates are also astronomical. The restrictions on new
construction within the camp means its residents are forced to live in
dilapidated, hopelessly abject housing. All these factors lead to a
situation so bleak for Palestinians that suicide in the camp is an
everyday tragedy.
After 20 years in the camp and suffering its endemic racism,
discrimination, fear, violence and poverty, Mr. Nafaa fled Lebanon and
claimed refugee status in Canada. His claim was denied on February 20,
2002. On the other hand, his brother Mohammad¹s refugee claim, heard by
a different member of the refugee board, was accepted.
Since arriving in Canada, Mr. Nafaa has become fully integrated in
Canadian and Quebec society. He has been reunited with his brother, and
they have renewed their close family ties. Mr. Nafaa currently works
full-time in a restaurant and is a self-sufficient and contributing
member of his community. He dreams of returning to school and finishing
the nursing degree he began in Lebanon. After suffering for so many
years as a refugee, his greatest desire is to alleviate the suffering of
others. In every sense, Mr. Nafaa has found a home in Canada.
Ahmad Nafaa now faces deportation to the refugee camps of Lebanon, where
the conditions faced by Palestinians are dangerous, degrading and,
beyond dispute, in clear violation of international law. This situation,
over half-a-century old, is directly related to the statelessness of
Palestinians. Because of their unique situation, Palestinians have been
denied not only rights accorded ordinary citizens but also genuine
access to the international system for the protection of refugees. The
fact that Mr. Nafaa's immediate deportation would be to the United
States does not materially affect his plight. Eventual deportation to
his country of origin is virtually automatic.
In signing the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of
Statelessness in 1978, the government of Canada championed the cause of
stateless refugees. If Canada returns Mr. Nafaa to Lebanon, it would be
abdicating that noble responsibility. The Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration must therefore act now and order a stay of removal for Ahmad
Nafaa pursuant to s. 50(e) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act. We thank you for your attention and efforts in this urgent matter,
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME, ADDRESS)
CC:
- Office of the Prime Minister of Canada: pm@pm.gc.ca,
Fax: 613-941-6900
- Michel Dorais, Deputy Minister CIC: Fax: (613) 954-3509 or (613)
954-5448
- René D¹Aoust: Director Investigation & Removal: Phone: (514)
496-1238,
Fax: (514) 496-1882
- Monique Leclair, Director General: CIC QC Regional Office: Fax: (514)
496-3976
- Andrew Telegdi, P.C. (Chair of Standing Committee on Citizenship &
Immigration): telega@parl.gc.ca
- Bill Siksay, MP (NDP - Immigration): siksay.b@parl.gc.ca
- Meili Faille, MP (Bloc Québécois - Immigration): Faille.M@parl.gc.ca |