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CAMP-OUT AND RALLY IN SUPPORT OF IRAJ GHAHRAMANI==> 24 HOUR CONTINUOUS CAMPOUT IN FRONT OF CIC OFFICES STARTS
==> RALLY AT CIC (300 WEST GEORGIA) SATURDAY MAY 26 FROM 2-4 PM
==> CONTINUE TO EMAIL/FAX/WRITE LETTERS (click here for template and backgrounder) Supporters of Iraj Ghahremani have decided to maintain a 24-hour continuous presence and campout outside Citizenship and Immigration offices indefinetely to place pressure on the government to stop the unjust deportation of Mr. Ghahremani.Mr. Ghahramani is a well known comedic Iranian entertainer and has contributed greatly to the diverse community in North Vancouver. As a helpful and supportive elder and member of his community, he is deeply respected and loved by many. Mr. Ghahramani arrived in Canada on April 3,1999 and filed a refugee claim on the basis of the risk and persecution he faced in Iran. His rejection was based mostly on minor inconsistencies in his account in his application form versus his account during the hearing- speaking no English and in a state of high stress and anxiety. Because the government has failed to implement the appeal process required by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2002), Mr. Ghahramani’s fate has essentially rested in the hands of one person. As with so many other refugees, Mr. Ghahramani’s refusal is a reflection of the structurally flawed refugee system.We hope you will join in the struggle for dignity for Iraj.* Spread the word about the rally on Saturday May 26 at 2 pm.* To call and leave a message of solidarity at the campout, please call 778 552 2099.* Drop by the campout whenever you can and share your solidarity: leave messages for Iraj, sign a letter, bring supplies (water, blankets etc).* Sign up for a shift (even 1 hour sometime in the next few days) at the campout if you are able to. Please email us at noii-van@resist.ca or call 778 840 2009.* We have received hundreds of support letters for Iraj- thank you! Pleasecontinue to call/fax/email Minister Stockwell Day and Minister Diane Finley to demand that they stop this deportation. Click here for SAMPLE LETTER .* If you are interested in getting together a group of coworkers, members of your group, or members of your community to express your collective solidarity with Iraj, we would encourage you to organize a coordinated delegation to arrive at one time and pressure CIC to stop the deportation of Iraj. Please do contact us about this possibility at noii-van@resist.ca or call 778 885 0040. Please stay in touch if you would like to receive future updates and thankyou for your ongoing support. In solidarity, No One is Illegal Vancouver For more information, email noii-van@resist.ca or call 778 885 0040
Deportation looms for Vancouver's 'Dancing Santa'. Canadian Border Services Agency extends Iranian's removal date to June 3 as Persian community rallies around activist
JONATHAN WOODWARD May 26, 2007VANCOUVER -- Refugee claimant Iraj Ghahremani, 70, has danced as a "Santa Claus" in North Vancouver's Iranian new year festivals since he fled Iran in 1999. But now that Canada has denied him refugee status and ordered Mr. Ghahremani deported next week, the Iranian community fears it will lose a dancer much-loved by children, and that Mr. Ghahremani will be imprisoned in a country where it is forbidden to dance in public. Mr. Ghahremani and his lawyers are hoping to delay the deportation long enough to argue that his dancing - as well as his political activism - will mean imprisonment and punishment in Iran. Canada should let him stay, they say. "I want to bring happiness to the Persian community," Mr. Ghahremani said. (Click here to read more)
Urgent Appeal to Support Iraj Ghahramani
This is an appeal for your support in the campaign to stop the imminent deportation of Iraj Ghahremani, a 70 year old, much loved member of the Iranian Community in the Greater Vancouver Area. His deportation date is scheduled for the end of May 2007. Mr. Ghahremani is a famous comedic Iranian entertainer and has contributed greatly to the diverse community in North Vancouver. As a helpful and supportive elder and member of his community, he is deeply respected and loved by many. Mr. Ghahremani arrived in Canada on April 3, 1999 and filed a refugee claim on the basis of the risk and persecution he faced in Iran. His rejection was based mostly on minor inconsistencies in his account in his application form versus his account during the hearing- speaking no English and in a state of high stress and anxiety. Because the government has failed to implement the appeal process required by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2002), Mr. Ghahremani’s fate has essentially rested in the hands of one person. As with so many other refugees, Mr. Ghahremani’s refusal is a reflection of the structurally flawed refugee system.
In 2007, Mr. Ghahremani filed a humanitarian and compassionate claim on the basis of his establishment within Canada, which included over 800 letters of support from community members. However this application was recently refused; primarily on the grounds that he has been receiving social assistance. As a senior, he is unable to pursue the difficult low-wage jobs that many immigrants and refugees are forced to take upon arrival to Canada. Furthermore, he has in fact worked intermittently over the past 8 years. This assessment ignores the reality that Mr. Ghahremani has contributed greatly through other means, that he has built a strong network in Vancouver, and that his value as a human being and as a senior cannot be simply quantified by his access to paid employment. He has multiple family members here, firstly his wife with whom he is in a committed and loving relationship and who is a Canadian citizen. Their lives would be devastated, particularly as seniors who rely on each other greatly for support, friendship, and care giving, if they were to be separated by his deportation. Mr. Ghahremani’s sister and four-half brothers and their respective families also reside in Vancouver. His father, who was accepted in Canada as a refugee, also lived in Vancouver. Mr. Ghahremani was the primary provider and care-giver to his ailing father until he passed away in 2004. Mr. Ghahremani’s physical health is fragile. His emotional health has been deeply impacted by the loss of his father and the daily anxiety and stress of a pending deportation and family separation. We are seeking your support to assist Mr. Ghahremani, who faces increased risk of unreasonable hardship if he is deported to Iran due to his age, ill health, and lack of support in Iran. At his age Mr. Ghahremani already struggles to live a dignified life. He requires the support of his wife, brother, and sister for support, and since he has no family remaining in Iran he would not be able to care for himself if deported.
We are seeking your support to pressure the government to allow Mr. Ghahremani to stay in Canada with his wife and family. PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY! In solidarity, No One is Illegal Vancouver. For more information, email noii-van@resist.ca or call 778 885 0040 ======> SAMPLE LETTER <========
Diane Finley Fédéral Immigration Ministre Ottawa Telephone: (613) 996-4974 Ottawa Fax: (613) 996-9749 Constituency Office Telephone: (519) 426-3400 Constituency Office Fax: (519) 426-0003 Email: minister@cic.gc.ca and Finley.D@parl.gc.ca Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Phone: 613.995.1702 or in Riding: 250.770.4480 Email: Day.S@parl.gc.ca and days1@parl.gc.ca Fax: (613) 943-0044 or in Riding: 250.770.4484 Dear Minister Findlay and Day, Regarding: Iraj Ghahramani I am writing to express my concern about the imminent deportation of Iraj Ghahremani, a 70 year old, much loved member of the Iranian Community in the Greater Vancouver Area. I am writing to ask that you use your ministerial discretion to set aside his deportation order and grant him Permanent Residency status. Mr. Ghahremani has been living North Vancouver as a valuable member of the community for approximately 8 years. He has been married to a Canadian Citizen with whom he is in a committed and loving relationship. Their lives would be devastated, particularly as seniors who rely on each other greatly for support, friendship, and care giving, if they were to be separated by his deportation. Mr. Ghahremani’s sister and four-half brothers and their respective families also reside in Vancouver. He is also a famous comedic entertainer and has contributed greatly to the rich and diverse culture of community in North Vancouver. As a helpful and supportive elder and member of his community, he is deeply loved and respected by many. Mr. Ghahremani’s physical health is fragile. His emotional health has been deeply impacted by the loss of his father and the daily anxiety and stress of a pending deportation and family separation. Mr. Ghahremani faces increased risk of unreasonable hardship if he is deported to Iran due to his age, ill health and lack of support in Iran. I am writing to you to express my support for Mr. Ghahremani and to urge you to stop all removal orders against him and granting him residency status in Canada immediately. Regards,
Name: Address:
By any measure, indigenous people are right on several major issues. May 20, 2007. By Richard DayIt is well known in all quarters that the job of Phil Fontaine, as the head of the Assembly of First Nations, is to moderate long-standing tensions between his constituents and the Canadian government.That's why it was rather surprising when Fontaine, speaking recently to the harrumphing curmudgeons at the Canadian Club, said that indigenous peoples and agents of the Canadian state are more likely to be meeting on the barricades than in the boardrooms this summer. That's enough to put any captain of industry off his lunch, to be sure, and it should be of concern to all of us.(
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Tegucigalpa, May 23 (Prensa Latina) A record number of Honduran people deported from the US to that Central American country amounted to 8,546 this year, disclosed a source from Government Ministry Wednesday.Rosario Murillo warned the ones deported by airplanes chartered by the US Migration Service might be more than 42,000 in 2007. Murillo explained other 4,063 people were deported by land from Guatemala and Mexico. In general, she pointed out that the number of repatriates has gradually increased, while in 2006 US authorities expelled 24,666 undocumented, and in 2005 it was 18,941 deported.(
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Wrecking Iraq: One Million Dead, 2 Million Wounded, 3 Million Displaced. By MIKE FERNER. May 11, 2007Two elements are necessary to commit the crime of genocide: 1) the mental element, meaning intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, and 2) the physical element, which includes any of the following: killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births; or forcibly transferring children to another group. Considering that such clear language comes from a UN treaty which is legally binding on our country, things could start getting a little worrisome -- especially when you realize that since our government declared economic and military warfare on Iraq we've killed well over one million people, fast approaching two.(
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KITV Hawaii Video - Hawaii Depleted Uranium - Leuren Moret/ Bob Nichols Commentary - No Place is Safe. The US Army has contaminated Hawaii!T his is a devastating video on the use of forever lethal uranium weapons by the US Army in the former Paradise of Hawaii. The Army has contaminated Hawaii forever with a form of highly radioactive and deadly uranium weapons.KITV Hawaii - Depleted Uranium Hawaii (2 Mins 33 Seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L94IUSw54pQ(
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By MARCUS KABEL, Associated Press Writer. May 23, 2007SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Federal immigration agents raided a poultry plant Tuesday morning and arrested more than 100 workers who are believed to be illegal immigrants. Most of those arrested at the George's processing plant in rural Butterfield were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, said Pete Baird, an agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations office in Kansas City.(
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