I pray that Canada will come up with a much more humane incentive to help those tormented, war-afflicted people.
Like many Canadians, I am also acutely overwhelmed by the refugee crisis in Europe, in particular by the misery and agony suffered by women and children. Being a woman and a mother, I understand much too well what those hapless women holding young children in their arms, running or walking in such desperate circumstances must be going through.
Your editorial and Paul Clarke’s article “Suddenly one picture changed everything” (Opinion, Sept. 10) have consumed me so much. I feel so proud of Premier Philippe Couillard as well as Canadians like Paula Kline (“Petition calls for Canada to accept 50,000 Syrian refugees” (Montreal Gazette, Sept. 10)) who are encouraging other Canadians to do the same.
I came to Canada to study 44 years ago and then decided to stay, urged by Canadian friends to take up residency here. Today, I still remain a very humbled and grateful immigrant who not only built a great life here for myself, but also helped my parents and siblings to immigrate here. All of them are doing wonderfully well. I pray that Canada will come up with a much more humane incentive to help those tormented, war-afflicted people.
As a Syrian-Canadian who served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and having worked for the last three years as a refugee resettlement expert with the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey, I am dismayed at Stephen Harper’s resistance to allowing in more Syrian refugees.
First, recognizing a refugee does not mean ignoring effective security checks. Canada has the experience and resources to do that. What is lacking is the political will to help those who are different from us.
Second, to grant preference for religious and ethnic minorities in being admitted to Canada echoes the myth that minorities are the only targets of extremists. All Syrians are victims of regime repression and the terrorism of ISIL.
Finally, referring to the refugees as “migrants” is wrong. Syrians fleeing the civil war may be considered “refugees,” but are not migrants. A migrant is someone who seeks better life in another country. A refugee is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted or killed for reasons of religion, race, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. These are the refugees from Syria seeking protection elsewhere.
I recently sent a message to my MP asking how I could sponsor a refugee family. Instead of giving me this information, her party has been bombarding me with daily messages welcoming me on board and asking me for money.
It reflects the incoherence of this election campaign. It’s a race to the bottom.