[R-G] "Second Komagatamaru"

[Macdonald Stainsby]

"Second Komagatamaru"
The Laibar Singh Case

by Harsha Walia; December 20, 2007 - Znet
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&Ite...

Laibar Singh is a 48-year old paralyzed Dalit Punjabi refugee claimant 
who is facing deportation to India. He had taken sanctuary on July 7 in 
the Abbotsford Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar Gurudwara. While in sanctuary, Mr. 
Singh’s health deteriorated and he had to be hospitalized. On Monday 
August 13, while in the hospital, Abbottsford police and Canadian Border 
Services Agency officers detained Mr. Laibar Singh. However due to 
immense community and political pressure, including a 600-person rally 
at his detention hearing within 24 hours notice, Mr. Singh was granted a 
temporary stay. He subsequently received a deportation order for 
December 10th- International Human Rights Day.

In a historic and unprecedented move, approximately 1500-2000 people 
including elders, women, and children converged at the Vancouver 
International Airport and surrounded the vehicle in which Laibar was 
being brought to the airport in for his scheduled deportation. Canadian 
Border Services Agency officers were unable to remove Laibar and were 
forced to postpone the deportation. The physical prevention of a 
deportation/expulsion - one of the most violent forms of 
state-sanctioned repression and brutality in the world today - has been 
hailed as a significant victory and has served as a powerful inspiration 
to movements across North Amerika.

Similar to indigenous resistance struggles, the racist backlash has been 
vehement and goes far beyond just the 'violent protestor' stereotype. 
Online forum discussion include comments such as "America has Al Qaeda. 
Canada has Sikhs"; "They weren't Canadians, only White people are 
Canadians"; and "What bothers me is that the millitary was not brought 
in." South Asian organizers within this campaign have received personal 
hate-based emails and phone calls. Several South Asian youth have 
reported an escalation of racially-motivated comments in their schools, 
all of which has a devastating impact on the South Asian community and 
immigrant/racialized communities as a whole who are constantly reminded 
of their subordinate position especially during moments of active 
resistance to the Canadian government.

The struggle to support Laibar is not for him alone nor is it simply one 
case, rather it symbolizes the struggles of the South Asian community to 
resist the unjust policies of deportation through defiance of the 
Canadian state. South Asian media outlets have declared this moment as a 
'second awakening of the Komagatamaru'. The Komagatamaru incident was a 
stand-off in 1914 between the Canadian government and 376 South Asian 
boat passengers who arrived on the shores of Vancouver challenging the 
racist and exclusionary Continuous Journey Rule intended to eliminate 
South Asian migration to Canada and reinforce a "White Canada" policy. 
It thus demonstrates to us how hard and long racialized migrants must 
fight to assert their right to self-determination which the Canadian 
government consistently denies and instead perpetuates pain, anxiety, 
and violence through detentions and deportations. Finally, this struggle 
reveals to us the power within communities who are at the frontlines to 
educate and mobilize themselves and the responsibility we have to 
actively support them and facilitate their organizing.

------------------------------------

A version of the article below was published in the Indo-Candian Voice, 
December 15, 2007

The recent case of paralyzed Laibar Singh has created much debate and 
division across Canada. There has been strong outpouring of sympathy for 
Laibar Singh and his medical condition, however the fundamental question 
turns on whether Canadian society has any "obligation" to support Mr. 
Singh as he has exhausted all his legal avenues. In addition, much of 
the public perception around Mr. Singh has unfortunately been fuelled by 
inaccurate facts.

Firstly, Mr. Singh was never handed down a deportation order prior to 
the one he received in July 2007. He has, therefore, never been 
"illegal" in Canada before taking sanctuary at the Abbotsford Gurudwara. 
Prior to his aneurysm, Mr. Singh worked as a labourer in Montreal.

Secondly, Mr. Singh arrived on a fake Indian document, which he declared 
to Canadian immigration authorities. This is not illegal as both 
international and Canadian refugee law recognize the reality that many 
asylum seekers will be forced to travel on fake documents. An 
overwhelming majority of refugee claimants arrive with false 
documentation and Section 178 of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee 
Protection Act provides refugee claimants the ability to make a 
statutory declaration that attests to their identity.

Lawyer Michael A. Leitold of Roach, Schwartz & Associates and a member 
of the Law Union of Ontario Steering Committee states “Laibar arrived 
legally in Canada, and declared his false documents, which is a normal 
part of the refugee process enshrined in Canadian and International law. 
Writing as a member of the Law Union of Ontario, I would like to state 
that I support Laibar's right to stay in Canada where he can receive the 
care he needs to live in dignity.”

It is unfortunate that some of us are declaring that he must leave 
because he does not "belong" any longer, despite the fact that his newly 
found family and community are here. Certainly his physical state of 
paralysis and the widespread community support he has received are all 
crucial factors and realities for Mr. Singh. He, like anyone else, 
should be entitled to live a healthy and dignified life. Instead of 
making declarations on what others are entitled to simply by virtue of 
the fact that we happen to already have immigrated to Canada or have 
inherited the privilege of Canadian citizenship by birth, let us support 
one another in being able to live a life of well-being and dignity.

We must challenge the idea that some are more worthy than others to 
decide their fate and their right to mobility; instead we should accept 
these as universal values of humanity.

The assumption is that Mr. Singh is being deported because he is an 
"undesirable" who has "failed" the designated legal processes. However 
his refusal as a refugee claimant must be understood in a climate where 
an increasing number of critics are pointing to a failing immigration 
and refugee system. This includes a growing movement of faith 
communities who are responding to structural flaws by publicly offering 
sanctuary, including nine current cases of sanctuary across Canada where 
churches are defying deportation orders handed down by the government.

For example, Immigration and Refugee Board members are political 
appointees who are not mandated to have any experience in the law; there 
is no Refugee Appeal Division despite its guarantee provided in the June 
2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; certain avenues such as the 
Pre Removal Risk Assessment have acceptance rates of 3-5% while others 
such as the Humanitarian and Compassionate claim do not have to be 
processed prior to deportation. The refugee system has been termed a 
"lottery system" because acceptance rates can vary from 0-80% depending 
on the judge. Most recently, the Federal Court of Canada struck down the 
Safe Third Country Agreement between the US and Canada which was 
creating a "Fortress Canada" by disallowing up to 40% of asylum seekers.

In the case of Mr. Singh, his deportation order was handed down despite 
the fact that he still had a pending legal humanitarian and 
compassionate claim. It is not far-stretched to suggest that one should 
not be deported prior to this legal claim being heard. While Mr. Singh 
received two temporary stays of deportation as a result of immense 
community pressure, a negative decision on Mr. Singh's humanitarian and 
compassionate claim was rendered largely on the basis that he 'does not 
have significant ties to Canada`, clearly a false assessment.

In addition to 40,000 petition signatures, a variety of organizations 
have expressed their support including the Canadian Labour Congress, BC 
Coalition of People with Disabilities, B.C Hospital Employees Union, BC 
Chapter of Council of Canadians, the Multifaith Action Committee, 
Student Christian Movement of Canada, Association of Chinese Canadians 
for Equality and Solidarity Society, a long list of South Asian 
community and faith groups, and politicians from all political parties.

A group of health care professionals- including 13 independent doctors- 
issued a letter to Immigration Minster Finley stating, "As health 
professionals, we are outraged at the fact that the Canadian government 
would consider deporting a paraplegic man, whose health condition is 
extremely fragile... For the sake of his safety, health and well being, 
we fully support him and demand that [the Minister] grant him permanent 
residency status on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate 
considerations."

As written by the B.C Hospital Employees Union “As health care workers 
on the frontline we fight to preserve a public healthcare system whereby 
people receive medical treatment based on their health needs. We do not 
judge people based on their income, social status or behaviour. Clearly 
Mr. Singh is in need of medical attention. Therefore we ask that as 
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration you allow Mr. Laibar Singh to 
remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and ensure 
that his medical needs are met.”

It is crucial to highlight that Mr. Laibar Singh's situation is not 
unprecedented. In October 2006, a Polish family on tourist visas in 
Winnipeg suffered from a car accident that left the father paralyzed. 
Initially they were refused on their humanitarian application; however 
their deportation order was subsequently overturned after pressure by 
the Polish-Canadian community, residents of Winnipeg, and political 
intervention by federal politicians. Therefore ministerial discretion in 
humanitarian and compassionate claims can and has been exercised in the 
past to stop deportations; in fact it exists for that very purpose.

Many in the South Asian community have been deterred by the negative 
backlash that has been fostered, specifically the racism in mainstream 
media outlets and online discussion forums that utilize commentaries and 
images that invoke a fear of violence and terror particularly in the 
post 911 climate. The campaign around Laibar Singh has revealed the ways 
in which the South Asian community is being constructed as "Outsiders" 
who do not quite belong to the Canadian Nation, which is based on a 
social construction and entitlement of Whiteness that invisibilizes the 
colonization of indigenous peoples in its formation.

As we know, Canadian history is marked by racism against racialized 
communities such as the Komagatamaru incident, the Chinese Head tax, the 
Japanese internment and much more. The very labelling of these 
communities as "immigrant communities" despite the reality that these 
communities have resided here for centuries, reveals their second-class 
nature and their eternal status as hyphenated citizens.

Multiculturalism in Canada celebrates our communities' culture as long 
as it does not disrupt too deeply any social or political issues. This 
internalized model-minority syndrome (the perpetual foreigner syndrome 
which forces us to constantly prove ourselves as being "worthy" of being 
in Canada) restrains us from believing that we can- indeed we have a 
responsibility- to stand up and exercise our rights and to stand united 
against systemic injustice without being deemed "unpatriotic" or 
"ungrateful", which is a brilliantly manipulative tool to impose a 
chill-effect on immigrant communities.

Finally, we have to vigorously challenge the assertion that the protest 
on International Human Rights Day was unlawful. Civil disobedience has 
its roots in human rights struggles including the Indian independence 
movement, the American Civil Rights movement, the South African 
Anti-Apartheid struggle, and all across this stolen land of Kanada by 
peace activists, indigenous communities, women's rights activists, and 
trade unionists. Those who went to the airport were expressing their 
commitment to moral values and were acting out of a sense of justice and 
compassion to protect human life.

In fact, the only thing that has transformed harmful laws and unjust 
decisions are such courageous movements driven by dedicated and 
compassionate people.

Harsha Walia [is a] South Asian activist, writer and member of No One Is 
Illegal. With previous No One Is Illegal writings by Harjap Grewal, Mia 
Amir, Naava Smolash, and Cynthia Oka.
-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
Coordinator, http://oilsandstruth.org
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In the contradiction lies the hope.
    --Bertholt Brecht.