Things are unravelling

Tags

border, Canada., Decrees, mexico, NAFTA, Peace, refugees, Trump, UN, UNHCR, USA

We are Saturday night 28 January it is the Lunar New Year, one year ago tonight we were in Charlottetown with our friends looking for a place to eat, we went to the Delta Hotel and crashed the Chinese New Year Banquet Dinner, we then went to The Place Next Door because the Merchantman was full of diners and painters, it was a special evening of Art in the Dark. There we met Nathan and Katie who were moving out of what would become our home in Charlottetown on Water Street.

One year later, here we are with our friends at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery for the opening of the Winter show.

However all is not well, tonight because of the travel ban on 7 countries imposed by Trump, tens of thousands of Canadians can no longer go to the USA because they were born in one those 7 countries. Regardless of the fact that they are Canadians and hold Canadian passports, they are barred from entering the USA. The White House has not bothered to inform my government of this fact. Other Canadians who tried to enter the USA today have been checked to ensure that they do not hold hostile anti-Trump views, carrying an iPhone or a computer leads to verification of accounts, they are reviewed especially Facebook for any comment deemed anti-Trump. Many have been refused entry on the spot. This is what happens in totalitarian States not in the USA, but things have changed.

Our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shown great courage and decency by upholding the Canadian Value of welcoming those who need our help. At this point we should be reminded that Canada was the founding nation of the United Nation High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) and also of the UN Peace Keeping Corps, our former Prime Minister the late Lester B.Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for that initiative.

Though this week we heard a lot about Mexico and the wall, the fact that President Trump has said he now wants to renegotiate NAFTA, a treaty I worked on during the implementing phase all those years ago, without so much as giving a formal notification to Canada or Mexico and uses language that is condescending and patronizing as if we owed something to the USA, such language and attitude is totally unacceptable. The Government of Canada reminded the White House that 35 million American jobs depend on trade with Canada, we are your #1 Trading partner and Mexico is also equally important, trade imbalance not withstanding.

We will also remind the White House that the use of Torture is unacceptable to Canada and this policy of the Trump administration puts in jeopardy any military or intelligence operation.

When terrorists struck on September 11, 2001 all flights to the Atlantic seaboard of the USA were diverted to Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, we took care, fed and housed thousands of American passengers for several days, we did not have to do it but we did out of decency and in an act of friendship.

When in 1979 the revolution in Teheran cause the departure of the Shah and the US Embassy was overran, it was Canada who saved a group of American Diplomats and their families and sheltered them and eventually arranged secretly to have them leave Iran at great cost to us, I would also like to remind readers that the UK and France had refused to help those same Americans.

It seems that more than 200 years of good cooperation, trade and friendly relations are now forgotten in the blink of an eye because of the election of one man who is surrounded by a bunch of ignorant people, not to mention the Republican party who is silent and complicit. The actions and decrees of Mr Trump this week are a dark stain on the USA and the American people and a threat to World Peace, I am not exaggerating.

Prime Minister Trudeau showing great courage and decency in welcoming Syrian Refugees to Canada, the very threat President Trump denounces.  

 

Views on immigration

Tags

Canada., Einhorn, Immigrants, Kantor, NYT, refugees, Sponsors, Syria

The New York Times published this week, October 24 an article by JODI KANTOR and CATRIN EINHORN entitled; Refugees encounter a foreign word: Welcome!

The story is about Canadians who sponsored Syrian Refugees and the response of the Canadian Government to this refugee crisis. Canada has a very well established and old refugee program. Canada was one of the founder and proponent of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugee, who deals with all refugee crisis around the world. Canada was also a writer of the International Convention on Refugee who regulate how internationally refugees are dealt with. In 1986 the Canadian People won the Nansen Refugee Medal awarded by the UNHCR.

Canadians in general do not see refugees as a threat to our way of life. Thousands of Canadians have in past decades sponsored tens of thousands of refugees to come to Canada to rebuild their lives. It’s a good and positive story and as Canadians we should be proud of what we have achieved.

There have been a lot of refugee crisis in the 20th Century and now in this new century. Think 1956 Hungarian crisis, 1967 Czechoslovakia, 1976 Vietnam Boat people and so on. In each case Canadians stepped up to the plate to do the need for.

The Syrian refugee crisis should be treated the same as all others. However the world view is different now. The media has fanned the flames of hate with sensational articles and politicians using populist tactics have used the lowest common denominator to create fear. The USA has so far admitted only 10,000 Syrian refugees, a very low number if compared with the past when the USA was seen as a vacuum cleaner picking up every refugee in sight.

There has been a mischaracterization of Syrians, they have been lumped into one group and labelled dangerous. The facts are very different some of them are Christians and others are Muslims, some are Arabs, some are Armenians or Circassian. For many people confusion about the entire political, social, refugee situation in the Middle East is incomprehensible.  An unfortunate word association has been created; Muslim, terrorist, Islamist, ISIS, Burka, Iran, Shia, Sunni, all those words mean nothing to most people and in the end is a source of suspicions, a sign of negativity.

Despite all this, many Canadians have stepped forward to help and sponsor Syrian refugees. Sponsoring a refugee is a process which will change your life, it is a lot more than just giving some money. A sponsor is responsible for the sponsored refugee for 12 months. This means financially responsible, you are like a new parent with a child, all their needs must be met and they must be fully supported.

The story in the New York Times gives an excellent view of what it means, it is an emotional journey but also a very rewarding one.

People who are refugees are not a threat, they represent no danger to the established order, your values or beliefs. Their need is to feel safe and rebuild their lives destroyed by war and political upheaval, situation they found themselves in through no fault of their own and are powerless to change. Only narrow minded politicians who wish to exploit unfounded fears and create hysteria for political gain wish to portray refugees as dangerous.

I have heard many say but they will impose their views on us. That is simple nonsense, Canada is a country of 36 million people of various ethnic background, faiths and culture, it is highly unlikely that 30,000 Syrian refugees mixed up in the general population would be able to change anything. Their priority is resettling. learning the language, finding jobs, learning a new way of life and sending the kids to school.

For the sponsors in Canada it has also been a steep learning curve, the Syrians they sponsored are not fitting the image they had of them before they arrived. Now they are seeing that they are human beings who are grateful for the help and anxious to get along but still have worries about their families back in camps in Lebanon or in Jordan. The Canadian sponsor have found out that Syrians have a rich ancient culture and much to share. One only wish that more Canadians who are still stuck with narrow beliefs and arrogant view points would be open to learning that there are other people in the world not as fortunate who need our help and understanding.

As for the constant terrorist threat, it has been demonstrated statistically that a Canadian has a very good chance of being run over by a car just crossing the street in any Canadian City and zero chance of ever meeting a terrorist face to face.

Let’s also not forget that the two so called terrorist incidents in Canada two years ago, were committed by White Canadians born and raised in Canada who suffered from mental illness and came from broken families. These acts where exploited by the Harper Regime at the time for cynical political purposes. It was also the Harper regime who taking their cue from the GOP strategists created the fire storm against people like the Arabs, who they viewed as a convenient easy target.

Canadians have proven that they know better and continue our tradition of welcoming refugees.

New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/22/world/americas/canada-refugees-syria.html?emc=edit_ae_20161023&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=66911170

 

 

 

Syria

Tags

Assad, Canada., Damascus, ignorance, Jordan, Les matins d'ici, racism, Radio Canada, refugees, Syria, UNHCR

In my life I have travelled a fair bit and I also lived in parts of the world for years that are very different from Canada. The difference are social, economic, cultural, linguistic , etc…. So I was able to observed other people and culture from a privilege perch in the diplomatic world. This gave me insight into countries and its people and why they are the way they are.

I become enormously frustrated with the silly narrative found in most media publication or on the news in general. I am also amazed at the lack of understanding the West demonstrates towards the Near-East or Levant. You would think that after centuries of inter-action we would have a better grasp but no we don’t, I speak here of our politicians and governments, I do not include the people because individuals have personal understanding shaped by their lives and experience or lack thereof. As for Asia, the Far-East, countries like China who claim super power status well they make no attempt at understanding the Near-East and do not get involved unless there is important economic, political advantage.

Umayyad Square in Central Damascus near the Canadian Embassy and the Sheraton Hotel.

Damascus had a population of 1.8 million people before 2012. 

I think what set me off the other morning was another asinine news report being discussed on Radio-Canada morning radio show called Les Matins d’ici, which always appear to strive for the lowest common denominator. The news item being discussed was the latest spat between Iran and Saudi Arabia. I just could not believe how mediocre the discussion was between the host and some reporter, neither had any understanding or knowledge of the situation. As these discussions go, the tone used is always one of feeling superior to those little people over there.

Damascus with its mix of old Ottoman Turkish buildings and modern architecture.

The great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, once a Christian Church, a very beautiful place to visit, both Saladin and the head of John the Baptist are buried here. He is venerated by both Muslims and Christians as a Prophet.

So to return to my topic here which is Syria and the region. In 1919 at the end of the First World War, Britain and France had succeeded in destroying the Ottoman Turkish Empire and claimed the spoils of that victory by occupying what we call the Middle-East and reshaping it completely into the creation of various countries we know today. Prior to that the Ottoman Turks had simply ruled the people as one vast entity forming their Empire for the last 500 years. Around 1916 he British had made a deal with the Arab tribes and promised Cherif Hussain of Mecca, kingdoms for his sons in return for military support against the Turks.

The old Souq or Market of Damascus what a fantastic place to shop.

The tablecloths were a big item to purchase as a gift, how many of my colleagues bought dozens of them. Very fine work and really looked good on a dining room table.

So Syria, Irak, Jordan and later Lebanon were created and the story has it, over lunch when Winston Churchill who was First Sea Lord and then occupied various important Government Cabinet posts, took out his pen and drew the map of the region on the tablecloth and the new borders of the new Kingdoms. Of the three kingdoms created only Jordan remains today ruled by the Hashemite Royal family. Irak in a bloody coup killed off its Royal Family in 1958, Syria became a colonial mandate in 1924 and independent of France in 1945. Lebanon was created by secret treaty between France and England in 1926 by separating it from Syria, it was ruled as a colonial mandate until 1943. The people living in that part of the  world were never consulted, all of these arrangements were simply imposed on them.

The tea salesman, walking in the market place and you can buy a glass of tea while shopping, a century old tradition.

But my post is about Syria since the beginning of the Civil War the country I knew has been destroyed. Officially Syria had a population of 22 million people, highly urban some 57% lived in cities. Today 3 million Syrians have left into exile or have been killed.

A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, and Yazidis. Sunni Arabs make up the largest population group in Syria. However the dictator Bashar Al-Assad and his family are Alewite Muslims of the Shia branch of Islam.

Unfortunately for Syria, it has seen numerous military coups since independence and then Hafez Al-Assad (father of the current president) and the Baath Party took over in 1961 and have ruled it as a corporate entity belonging to the Al-Assad Family and their friends, sort of a Mafia Police State. Al-Assad (father) allowed many terror groups to establish offices in Damascus under his control. He also cleverly played the Soviets against the Americans in power politics in the region during the Cold War. Though he favoured the USSR because they gave him weapons and political support. Hafez Al-Assad ruled with an iron fist and is responsible for mass murder and other atrocities. He died still holding power in June 2000 and was succeeded unlikely by his son Bashar who lived in London UK at the time and was not destined to become the new dictator. However the Baath Party and the family needed him and he was thrust into the position of President. Many Syrians hoped he would be different from his father, but Bashar was too weak and was manipulated by various factions. Now we have this Civil War that is unlikely to end soon and again Syria is a pawn of the Super Powers Russia and the USA. Other players are Iran who support Bashar Al-Assad, he has been a good ally of Iran for many years. Saudi Arabia who would like to get rid of the regime in Syria if it could be replaced by one favouring Saudi Arabia and block the Iranian influence.

Carpet shops where I spent quite a few afternoons choosing which one I would purchase. The owners would always offer tea or a Seven-up  and sandwiches. They could sense a serious buyer.

Jordan is an ally of the USA and wishes to stay out of this conflict to protect itself from the spread of extremism. So far it has managed to remain stable with careful diplomacy and managing carefully the religious question by maintaining that everyone is Jordanian first before anything else. Irak has its own troubles and instability and the current Iraqi government favours links with Iran and has used Iranian troops to fight ISIS within its territory.

I could go on but it gets truly complicated and bizarre as international politics can be sometimes or most of the time. In the meantime the Syrian civilian population bears the brunt of the violence while the great powers play amongst themselves. I was in Damascus for the last time in February 2003 at the time Irak was on the verge of its last war with the USA which would see the fall of Saddam Hussein and his regime. The Syrians I met in Damascus then were nervous and afraid, they were ordinary people, café owners, taxi drivers, professionals, etc. who did not want a war with anyone. However the government of Syria was playing a dangerous game as tensions escalated, which was far from neutral in this situation.

What is happening in Syria was bound to happen, you do not annoy the great powers without serious consequences that is the terrible law of international politics, for too many years the Syrian Regime of Hafez Al-Assad was a thorn in the back of the USA and other Western powers. Russia used Syria to advance its own agenda in the region and Syria being on good terms with Iran and many terror groups like Hamas (Palestine) and Hezbollah (Lebanon-Iran) simply made for an unacceptable situation. With the death of Hafez Al-Assad in 2000 the USA, Britain, France and others like Canada hoped for a change in Syrian Foreign Policy more friendly towards the West. But the Middle-East is a place of long memories, resentment and rancour and many cannot forget the Western political manipulations prior to independence in 1946.

Pastry and sweets always fresh 

As for the people, the Syrians are long suffering in all of this and they are voiceless like any people living in a dictatorship, who would be foolish enough to speak up in a Police State. The small demonstration of the Arab Spring three years ago were met with police violence. More demonstrations and protests were crushed but this time Western powers were financing some groups and talking regime change. Russia seeing what had happened in Libya with Kadhafi feared the same in Syria and gave full support to Bashar Al-Assad so did Iran to block any idea of regime change, China also had a hand in this discreetly playing obstruction on the sideline. If Russia had not intervened to support Al-Assad, Russia would have lost years of careful influence and alliance building in the region. It would also have diminished its image building as a new Russia retaking the world stage it was forced to abandon in 1990 with the fall of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain in Europe. Russia has demonstrated it is very keen to retake its lost prestige in the international arena.

Ottoman Turkish Mansions turned into hotels or restaurants

Now the problem with the lingering Civil War in Syria is what to do with Bashar Al-Assad, he is the poisoned apple no one wants, including Russia who does not appear to control him anymore, but Russia cannot abandon him, concede defeat and give up the game to the USA and its Allies. The other crucial question is WHO would replace him and what would come after?  Better the devil you know, who is pliable than a wild card.  So the Civil War must go on until a solution is found to the Al-Assad problem, there are no easy solution.

As for the ISIS group, they could be easily crushed tomorrow, but at this time they are still useful in the game of power politics in the region. They will eventually disappear. The Powers will decide on action to be taken and wipe them out. No one likes them, including groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. ISIS has no allies and this is its greatest weakness and its eventual undoing. However at the moment they are useful in keeping the region weak on the world checkerboard.

In the meantime Syrians flee, it is estimated by the United Nations that upwards of 5000 persons per day leave Syria for Jordan, Turkey and other points. It is a very sad situation and a true humanitarian crisis. Most refugees are from big Syrian Urban Centres, many are educated, middle-class and have lost everything. They are just civilians caught in a vicious civil war, powerless to do anything that might affect the outcome.

The world media has had a field day branding them terrorists, ISIS supporters, carriers of disease, fundamentalists killers. The media has branded this an Islamic Invasion, our world is in peril, etc. In fact if you read any of the media in Europe or North America there have been very few balance reports. In Canada the former government under Stephen Harper conducted a hate campaign against Muslims in the hope of garnering votes during the Federal National Election, this played very badly for Mr Harper who lost all and ended up as a backbencher in the House of Commons. Tea Party style politics in Canada does not play out well, though Newspaper chains like the Sun and the National Post or the Globe and Mail certainly endorsed him.

The Al-Zaatari Refuge Camp in Jordan, home to 160,000 Syrians. It is the largest in the World, under the administration of the UNHCR.

The French speaking Press in Quebec is anti-Muslim and xenophobic but this has to be seen in the context of the Nationalistic Quebec Politics which has always had strong racial overtones. It is extremely sad to see such ignorance displayed openly. Another example of how we never learn from history, in 1938 when Jews wished to flee Europe it was Quebec who displayed its racist attitudes.

Canada has processed and visaed to Immigrate to this country the 10,000 promised by year end by the Trudeau government, but due to lack of flights from Jordan only 6500 have actually arrived so far in Canada.

Syrian children in the camp in Jordan.

A large portion of the  Canadian population is certainly supporting this movement of refugees and many good news stories have appeared. One from the Guardian in Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island and others in Halifax and Toronto, the Syrian families who have arrived are very happy and thankful Canada has extended a hand to help. It is our tradition for the last 130 years. What is good also is the fact that once they actually land in Canada they are automatically Permanent Resident and can simply go about their lives in a normal way.  In the end up to 50,000 will settle in Canada. They are ordinary civilian caught in a vicious civil war which displaced them and ruined their lives.

With my knowledge and experience of the region I have no doubt that the Syrians will adapt well and will make good citizens. They certainly bring with them a different culture but also one that values education, knowledge and they will melt into our society and mix with other Arab both Christian and Muslim and Middle-Eastern populations in Canada.

The fear should be from our own ignorance, lack of compassion and understanding of the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know the old saying.

Tags

Canada., elecions, fascist, God, Greece, Harper, immigration, Jesus, Kurdi, nazis, refugees, shame, Turkey

Some sayings are repeated ad nauseam to the point where no one really knows what it actually means. One such saying is ” Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. In other words learn from the past and avoid mistakes in the future. Who said this first, I have no idea and frankly I dislike this saying profoundly simply because it is trite and totally untrue.

In today’s world not only we do not know our history (the past) or any history or past event for that matter but we are repeating the same mistakes over and over again, all the while saying Those who cannot remember the past are blah blah blah.

In Canada we do not learn from the mistakes of our predecessors if current political events are a guide. During this National Electoral Campaign period the longest since 1892 many issues have come up all important and indicative of the problems beseeching Canada today. One particularly emotional event was the photo of the little drowned child Alan Kurdi dead on a beach in Turkey. The story was of fleeing families from the four year old Civil War in Syria. So far 11 million Syrians of all confessions have fled, those who remain live in fear amongst the ruins, half a million are dead.

The family of this child, some of whom are living in Canada claimed that the Canadian Government had failed to accept them within its refugee program for resettlement. It should be said at this point that as a former Immigration Officer of the Canadian Foreign Service the issues of refugees and people seeking resettlement is well known to me. For many years I worked in Northern Africa and the Middle East and am well acquainted with the movement of population and the work of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee questions are governed by well established rules and procedures in Conventions written in part by Canada as a founding member of the UNHCR and the UN after the Second World War.

While I was on my last post and working in Athens I often met with Syrians who had been in Greece under difficult circumstances in some cases for 20 years. The Greek authorities considered them simply as transient and did not have to do anything to help them under the UN Refugee Conventions. Turkey created its own problems for anyone arriving on its territory and trying to claim refugee status. Turkey is a land bridge to Europe and the transit of thousands of people through its territory is problematic. Coupled with that the well established criminal gangs which procure passports and other documents in exchange for large sums of money to anyone who can pay. The same gangs are also involved in transporting people to other European destination like Italy. This traffic is well established, profitable and brings large profits in the millions to such criminals who exploit the poor and those who have no were to turn. This traffic victimize people who are feeling for their lives in this case the Syrians.

Governments are very well aware of this situation and it is very well documented, including the routes taken and who is involved. Sometimes a crackdown will happen and some corrupt Government Official will be arrested, but that is rare.

The people travelling can be separated into two groups, the first are young men under 25 years of age who are economic migrants, they seek to find work in a Western country so they can support their families back home mostly in Africa. The other group are families like the Kurdi who may have relatives in countries in Europe or in North America, in this case Canada. Our Canadian Immigration Act is more welcoming or was prior to 2006, since the Harper Regime has made many changes including closing of Immigration Offices in our Embassies abroad, not hiring Officers for many years in a row, creating a staffing crisis where we have insufficient numbers of people able to do the specialized work required in processing refugee claimants abroad and not funding properly the existing program. In Fiscal Year 2014, some 350 million dollars went unspent and was returned to the Treasury, this is unheard of in this time of tight budgets. This was achieve my the Minister refusing to grant authorization to spend budgets despite the need to.

With the closing of our Canadian Embassy in Damascus four years ago and at the same time the closing of the largest Immigration program in the Levant, suddenly the much smaller Immigration Offices in Beirut and Amman and the one in Ankara had to take up the work. This created enormous chaos with a war in Afghanistan and Irak, since those Offices already had a full work load for their area, one example Amman in Jordan covers Palestine and Irak, now they would be also responsible for part of the Syrian program and the refugees who are in Jordan while also keeping Irak in the loop. They had to manage without any extra staff meaning that the programs grind to a halt.

The Harper Regime is fully aware of the problems in the Middle East and the crisis at hand, however this crisis is being exploited for political ends. We saw it in the case of the Kurdi family drowned at sea. The Prime Minister claims that a war in Syria to eliminate ISIS is the solution to this crisis, what are the civilian population to do, that as he says is not his concern. He also claims that we cannot take refugees from Syria because of security concerns. He mentions the danger of terrorism, of the need to be vigilant, he takes a tone of voice which is paternalistic trying to convince people that he cannot do anything at all. This is all too reminiscent of Europe in the 1930’s and the failed response of Canada then.

What has happened here is an abdication of our International Treaty obligations, we are signatory to treaties which requires that we take action. Yes Canada had until 2006 the most generous refugee program per capita in the world. I remember going to International Conferences where other countries would seek our advice on crisis and follow our example. That no longer happens, in fact countries now pretend we are not in the room at such meetings, we have become an embarrassment. Just last week our Finance Minister Joe Oliver was in Turkey and he boasted to the Media in Canada that he was there to tell the Turks how to fix their financial problems, if only they listened to us they would not be in the mess they are now. Such arrogance and all of it to get a few votes from the extreme Right Wing in Canada, Harper’s base. Me, Joe Oliver the White guy speaking to the little people, a tone which is the trademark of the Harper Regime.

After the unfortunate events of 22 October 2014 in Ottawa, when a soldier was shot at the National War Memorial by a drunk and mentally ill man, who was quickly deemed a terrorist, our PM has been fanning the flames of intolerance, prejudice, racism and xenophobia under the guise of security. It works because he uses the lowest common denominator and fear is a powerful weapon. Mr Harper has made no secret that he hates Arabs and Muslims, in his speeches he constantly equates Islam with terror. He has made numerous speeches about Islamists and Islamiscist a word he likes to use a lot. Even ordinary citizens have been stressed about the topic to the point many believe that terrorists are everywhere in Canada. The world is a dangerous place says Harper so we must be vigilant.

While other countries are developing plans with Germany leading the pack by accepting 800,000 Syrian refugees, we in Canada cannot accept Syrian refugees because they could be terrorists.

Mr Harper has promised complex and lengthy security vetting before anyone is accepted. As if we did not have such procedures now and in the past.  Anyone who is considered for immigration to Canada or as a refugee is vetted for Health and Security it is standard procedure and has always been thus. Even in emergency cases where lives are at risk, a security assessment is made by the Officer at post.

But leave it to Harper to invent new complicated procedures that are needless and unhelpful. His base loves him for it, he is going to save us, they claim, you also hear now from people in his own Caucus how Harper is like Jesus Christ, doing the same work, teaching by example. Oh my, we are ruled by a god, are we far from the North Korean model, I wonder.

Today in an open letter a former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, the one who gave us the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, wrote that Harper had shamed Canada. Yes he has shamed us, we are not the country we were prior to 2006. Harper did say that when he was finished with Canada we would not recognize the country. Well he has succeeded. This debacle with the Refugee Case of the Kurdi family is a clear indication of what is happening. Terry Galvin in an article in the Ottawa Citizen investigated the ministerial paper trail and clearly shows that the Minister of Immigration knew all along about this family and the difficulty they were encountering in trying to claim refugee status. Minister Alexander did nothing, he shamed us. By reading the article I saw what happened and can well imagine how all this could have been avoided, lives saved.

What I find especially painful and very difficult to read is the callous and hateful comments of the bigots who loudly support the action of the Harper Regime. They have no shame, they are motivated by the speeches and ideology of Harper and feel justified in expressing their hatred openly. Some go so far as to lift word for word, phrases and expressions from Nazi ideology, advocating shooting them before they get here, mocking the dead for trying to flee and so on, these people vote for Stephen Harper. What has become of Canada? What have we become, a country of nasty little people. When the current situation is compared to Europe prior to the Second World War and what happened to the Jews and many others who did not fit in the Nazi ideology, these same Harper supporters claim that this is not true. Those saying such things attack their leader Harper and are leftist, liberals or terrorists sympathizers and choose many other violent insults to attack and denigrate opponents.

I dare to hope that Harper and his people will go away come October 19, that we can reclaim our country from such fanatics and reactionary elements. The Leader of the Green Party Elizabeth May said that she is willing to go to the Governor General if Harper is re-elected and ask that he use his Royal Prerogative so a coalition government could be formed. According to the latest polls, the results will be very tight because 3 parties are splitting the vote. However a coalition could prevent Harper from continuing his misrule.  Let’s hope for a better day so that we can reclaim our reputation as a honest broker, peace keeper, an example of stability and social peace in the world.

Keeping healthy despite it all

Tags

Africa, camps, Ethiopia, Health, malaria, mosquitoes, Omdurman, refugees

Before going on any posting abroad with the Canadian Foreign Service, we had to do a medical assessment. It was not thorough but enough for the employer to be reassured that you would not drop dead while on posting. Mind you many did manage to do just that with undiagnosed heart conditions or something worse. Which made you wonder about the Public Health doctors and nurses who were suppose to look after us.

One of the joys of going on posting was to be given needles for just about every tropical and exotic disease near the Equator. The knowledge about those diseases and how to pick up on the symptoms remains to this day rather vague notion for our Canadian Medical establishment but they know a chicken with the flu when they see one. We were also given malaria pills, the size of pills given to horses, the unpleasant side effects were stomach cramps, nausea, fever, headaches, etc… but you were protected up to 60% from catching the disease if a mosquito bit you between 5pm and 9pm. As if mosquitoes go to bed at 9pm, we had to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts with a collar and stay away from cologne or after shave which contain sweet ingredients. Because of the heat we would also stay indoors at night.

There was also briefings on what to eat and not to eat on postings in tropical climes. This advice was followed because it was common sense, in a restaurant never eat cold dishes, no salads or berries of any kind, no melons, no dairy products, ice cream, no sauces or mayonnaise. All that is deadly where sanitary conditions and heat combine. Ice cubes was not necessarily a problem if the water used had been filtered, but you did learn to drink without ice, just keep your gin and vodka or beer in the fridge at all times. I also started using UHT Milk which was safe to drink.

I remember in Cairo a colleague who had just arrived was staying at the Marriott in Zamalek, a very nice hotel built into the old Palace which had been built for Empress Eugénie of France when she came to Cairo for a few days to inaugurate the Suez Canal on behalf of her husband Emperor Napoleon III. This colleague tells us that she had to eat sensibly and lose some weight, she was not obese nor fat really. Anyway that night, she had a big salad, she almost died and spent 8 weeks recuperating loosing some 50 lbs that she did not need to lose and looking like a skeleton afterwards. She had been warned but disregarded the advice because it was a 5 Star Hotel and felt safe.

The medical advice had always been eat only fruits and vegetables you can peel and cook, eat only fried or completely cooked meats, stay away from the rest. I was deathly ill in Mexico but never in any other posts like Cairo, Khartoum, Amman, Beijing.

In my travels in the Sudan conditions were primitive, we had good transport and drivers and would stay when possible in UN compounds where we knew we could get a hot shower, clean sheets and a full meal in good sanitary conditions. When we arrived in Kassala from Suakin, the conditions in that town on the border with Ethiopia were far from sanitary. Again the hotel we stayed at was very primitive, the restaurant was on the roof on the third floor and was also used as a dormitory and lounge. Being high up on the roof meant no snakes or scorpions or other little critters, you still had to give your shoes a very good shake in the morning before putting them on. The food menu was very limited, basically eggs and bread. We had scrambled eggs and bread, which you ate with your right hand scooping up the eggs with a piece of flat bread, there were no knife, spoons or forks. I discovered later that Ethiopians also eat using flat bread to scoop up food.  Never use your left hand in a Muslim country for eating or social intercourse, absolutely never, unless you want to gross out your host or dinner companions and get disapproving looks.

Kassala is on the Ghash River and is home since 1970 to large influx of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees, there are also large number of Africans from South Sudan displaced by war and genocide. It is a commercial hub for traders, it was once a garrison town under the Ottoman Turks, then the Italians and later British Army. Kassala is ringed by large UN refugee camps under the guard of the Sudanese army, which is not a good thing for the refugee who endure much abuse and violence. In 1990 it was estimated that up to one million people lived as refugees in the Sudan mostly in Eastern border towns or in Khartoum. I remember reading a medical report on the health of the refugees compared to the native Sudanese population. The refugees were in far better health than the  Sudanese with much less incidence of disease. According to the medical report this was due to the fact that a refugee knew that to make it out of the camp and be resettled abroad you had to be in good general health.

Nonetheless the trek out of Ethiopia or Eritrea was dangerous on many levels. Women were very often raped repeatedly by soldiers, then they would be shunned by their own kin.  Men were subjected to beatings and some were killed right out. Women alone or with small children had to sell themselves to a man for protection. Culturally a widow was not very valuable and seen as used goods, however if she could cook and keep house then she could be of some use. Small children were often sold into slavery and treated like dogs, chained in the yard. Crossing rivers on foot could be also very dangerous due to crocodiles and snakes, people had to know were to cross and when, the journey was long and difficult. I heard much horrors and could do little since I was just there to report on conditions. I was also being watched by the Sudanese Authorities who did not want negative reports sent about their mistreatment of refugee population on their territory. Young soldiers on duty in such areas were often nervous and unsure of their orders and suspicious of anyone who came from the Capital especially a foreigner. It was best to keep cool, polite and say nothing, let them do the talking. Apologize if need be for disturbing them and be on your way quickly, offering cigarettes like Marlboro a whole pack or a carton was also very helpful to calm a jittery soldier. Back in Khartoum I could report to the UNHCR and the ICRC (Red Cross) what I had seen and come to an understanding on best we could help the refugee population. I am happy to say that I was able to help out several thousand people, many were resettled in Canada.

After Kassala we drove back to Khartoum on a Chinese built road. I was quite glad to be back in a City with a curfew and martial law and in a hotel with hot water and decent food.

Before I returned to Cairo, I crossed the bridge to Omdurman. There is a large market where many merchants sell goods and souvenirs. Carved figurines of African Animals in ebony or mahogany, tribal masks and other artifacts and filigree gold jewellery.

Omdurman is also where the Silver dome Tomb of the Mahdi is located, it is more of a memorial since when Lord Kitchener arrived in town, defeating the Mahdist Army he had the body Muhamad Ahmad Ibn Abdallah Al-Mahdi exhumed and burned in the furnace of his gunboat and the ashes thrown in the Nile. This to avenge the assassination of General Gordon during the siege of Khartoum by the Army of the Mahdi. The body of General Gordon was never found, no one knows in the aftermath of the battle and chaos what happened. Though it is known that his head was brought to the Mahdi who was angry at being disobeyed since he wanted Gordon alive. The Mahdi’s family was also imprisoned by the British and were never freed.

Omdurman unlike Khartoum across the Nile was always gripped by an epidemic of some kind, always contagious. At night the markets were always a pleasant area to go before the curfew. Cairo had great markets also but it was an Arabic style market place, whereas Omdurman was a mix of African and Arab market place rich in both cultures.