Written by: Rathi Kamalanathan (University of Toronto)
In a recent ad released by the Conservative Party of Canada, the Conservatives makes reference to the boatload of Tamil refugees who made their way to Canada last year, fleeing persecution in Sri-Lanka. The ad begins of saying,”Canada welcomes people who want to build a better future, but our openness doesn’t extend to criminals who target Canadian generosity.” It is here that a picture of the cargo ship MV Sun Sea, which brought 492 Tamil refugees to BC is shown. This ad is highly xenophobic, racist and misleading. In 1939, Canada turned away the SS St Louis carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees, who were forced back to Nazi Germany. Similarly, 26 Sikhs were shot dead when their ship Komagata Maru was forced to return to South Asia by the Canadian immigration officials of the time.
The message being sent through this ad is that refugee claimants are “criminals.” The migrants who were on this ship that was featured in this ad were travelling at sea for three months, living in cramped and inadequate living conditions. They put their lives at risk to embark on this risky journey to a safer place after suffering tremendously through the hardships in Sri Lanka. The situation in Sri Lanka is dire as many Tamils still remain in camps and are living in poor conditions. Many Tamils are being detained without fair trial and disappearances occur on a daily basis. No satisfactory solution has been mediated for the Tamils living in Sri-Lanka, and the war criminals that have carried out these crimes have not been brought to justice. Slowly, evidence is mounting against the Sri-Lankan Government; leaks of Sri-Lankan military personnel torturing, raping and killing Tamils has made its way to major media sources. The Tamils who made the journey fled persecution from these war criminals, and came to Canada in hopes to rebuild their lives.
As Canadians, it is our duty to welcome these refugees with open arms and ensure their rights and freedoms are protected. Labeling these refugees as criminals will hinder their integration into Canadian society, and will breed racism and xenophobia. As a country that is a signatory to the United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, Canada is encouraged to ensure that refugees who reach its soil are given the rights and freedoms outlined in this Convention. Canada has been recognized worldwide as being a compassionate country that protects the rights and legitimate concerns of refugees, and labeling them as criminals does not display compassion for the tremendous plight these refugees have undergone.
Here is the ad:
Tags: News
