rabble.ca - Migrant Matters

Escalating migrant and refugee repression in Canada - Panel

migrant matters — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:03:16 +0000

The panel of the May Day potluck, which has been celebrated in Guelph, Ontario for four years now, illuminates the experiences of working-class migrants and immigrants in relation to Canada's continually failing immigration and labour legislation. Guest speakers at this year's celebration include: Juan, Melissa Paciulan, Lizzie Neale and Teresa Edge.

Juan works as a migrant farm worker in Waterloo, Ontario. He talks about his experience living and working under Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program.

Guelph hosts vigil to honour 11 victims of migrant worker van tragedy

migrant matters — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:17:25 +0000

On Monday, February 6th, a van carrying 13 Peruvian farm workers as well as one farm worker from Nicaragua collided with a transport truck in Hampstead, outside Waterloo, Ontario. *Eleven lives were lost, including 11 migrant farm workers and the driver of the truck.

Roma civil rights activist Aladàr Horvàth's call to Canada: Have empathy for the Roma

migrant matters — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:11:53 +0000

Aladàr Horvàth, chair of the Roma Civil Rights Foundation in Hungary and a former member of the Hungarian Parliament, provides an overview of the history of the Roma people in Hungary and the social and political landscape in the country that has brought so many of them to Canada seeking refugee status in recent months.*

He identifies the hate speech prevalent in Hungarian media as central to the overall societal disdain for the Roma, and describes the hardships faced by locals resulting from routine police brutality, structural violence, and aggression from local governments. Context is provided around the practice of forced labour camps that separate families and destroy Roma communities.

Mapuche communities deserve liberation of their land and people

migrant matters — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:19:18 +0000

I sat down with Jaroslava, an organizer with the Women's Coordinating Committee For a Free Wallmapu (WCCFW), to talk about the struggles of her community.

The powerful sacred life stages of women, Cree, Métis and Ojibway

migrant matters — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:28:50 +0000

Dr. Kim Anderson's book Life Stages and Native Women: Memories, Teachings and Story Medicine launched into Turtle Island and the world beyond this year. It is a book many of us wish our parental figures would have read us growing up.

This fall, Dr. Anderson graced us with her presence for a book reading at the University of Guelph. Throughout the hour, she stressed the importance of having reverence for women and the different things women bring at different points along the life stage continuum, as taught through Métis, Cree and Ojibway stories - also known as medicines that remind us of our strength.

Michael Parenti's 'The Face of Imperialism'

migrant matters — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 04:05:23 +0000

In this interview, Seigfried Barazov speaks with progressive scholar Michael Parenti, mainly talking about two of his recent books: The Face of Imperialism and The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome.

www.michaelparenti.org

Recorded for Back in the USSR and Migrant Matters Radio on 93.3 FM CFRU.

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migrantmatters@cfru.ca

Seven Deadly Myths: Denying the Palestinian narrative

migrant matters — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:42:15 +0000

What if what we believe we are fighting for is based solely on our own narrative? What if our narrative is based on the denial of the experience of "the other"?

Lia Tarachansky is the Middle East reporter for The Real News, and is currently finishing up production on her debut documentary called Seven Deadly Myths (slated for a 2012 release). The film is about the collective denial of the narrative of the Palestinian people that has led to emotional, mental, social and physical walls between the Palestinian and Israeli people.

Queer discussions on im/migration and criminalization

migrant matters — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:11:15 +0000

The bodies of indigenous people, queer people, migrants, people of colour and the poor have been exploited, governed, labelled and regulated by the Canadian and U.S. states. The state has tried to interfere in our communities, our languages, our families, our love relationships and our ability to seek refuge. But we have seen that if we resist, we can win! On Septempter 28, No One Is Illegal-Toronto (NOII-TO), along with Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) called on queers, trans folks, two-spirted people, people of colour, migrants, workers, students, radicals, and allies to converge for an evening of discussion, reflection and celebration.

Sophisticated vigilantes C.R.I.M.E. take on France over Haiti restitution

migrant matters — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:41:58 +0000

This past August 26th, I was joined by special guest Laurence Fabre of C.R.I.M.E. (Committee for the Reimbursement of the Indemnity Money Extorted from Haiti).

CRIME, an international group of activists who have impersonated French government officials, have called on the French government to repay Haiti, its former colony, more than $20 billion that had been extorted in the 19th century as penalty for Haiti's fully-deserved and arduous revolution.

What can we expect from one of the most boundlessly and violently cruel of the European colonizers? CRIME explains their actions. Plus, the mechanics of public relations 101 for good prank activism measure.

It's the ReadNex Poetry Squad

migrant matters — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:13:43 +0000

Three-fifths of the New York-based spoken word hip-hop team whipped up one spectacular fundraiser show this summer in Guelph. A long overdue shout-out and thanks to them for supporting the "We Are Jose" campaign (wearejose.com) with the talents up their b-boy and b-girl art sleeves!

FreeFlowin, Decora, DJ H20 and myself packed into their tour van after the show to talk about all things at the heart of hip-hop - releasing truths through rhythm and words, motivating youth through workshops, towards more women in hip-hop, and why there is no hip-hop without embracing the most socially disempowered in society with compassion.

Shameless U.S. news personality Lou Dobbs still given a mainstream platform

migrant matters — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:07:11 +0000

Lou Dobbs is the former CNN host of Lou Dobbs Tonight, generating big money for Time Warner Inc. for decades. He is currently the host of a new television show of the same name on Rupert Murdoch's Fox Business Network, no doubt trying to hold on to his reign as a very influential spokesperson for the anti-immigrant movement. Dobbs is acclaimed by former CNN president Jonathan Klein for his "fearless reporting and commentary," but independent journalist Isabel Macdonald has uncovered hidden truths that tell otherwise. She reveals in her October 2010 article, "Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite," how Dobbs is yet another affluent white American reliant on the labour of poor racialized people with no or precarious status.

Mayday panel: Speaking from the forefront of the struggle for (im)migrant justice and workers' rights (2 of 2)

migrant matters — Mon, 02 May 2011 02:45:03 +0000

This panel features speakers representing the independent, humanitarian, solidarity based, organizations: No One Is Ilegal! -Toronto, Canadian Humanitarian Appeal for the Relief of Tamils (Canadian HART), Migrante-Ontario, and Communist Party of Canada. The first three speakers share the experiences of their communities as being comprised of racialized working-class and poor (im)migrants in Canada, illustrating the hardships, inequalities, racism, and other abuses inherent in the process of (forced) migration to Canada. All participants examine the recent changes in the Canadian immigration system and focus on the work that grassroots, anti-oppression, community organizations have and are doing in southern Ontario to create change.

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Mayday panel: Speaking from the forefront of the struggle for (im)migrant justice and workers' rights (1 of 2)

migrant matters — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:32:56 +0000

This panel features speakers representing the independent, humanitarian, solidarity based organizations: No One Is Ilegal! -Toronto, Canadian Humanitarian Appeal for the Relief of Tamils (Canadian HART), Migrante-Ontario, and Communist Party of Canada. The first three speakers share the experiences of their communities as being comprised of racialized working-class and poor (im)migrants in Canada, illustrating the hardships, inequalities, racism, and other abuses inherent in the process of (forced) migration to Canada. All participants examine the recent changes in the Canadian immigration system and focus on the work that grassroots, anti-oppression, community organizations have and are doing in southern Ontario to create change.

Communist Party of Canada on why 2011 election spells great danger to working and poor people

migrant matters — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:52:52 +0000

Since 1921, the Communist Party of Canada has been in the forefront of working class and progressive struggles, fighting for peace, jobs, democracy, sovereignty and internationalism.

Miguel is the federal leader of the Communist Party of Canada and Drew is the Communist Party of Canada candidate for Guelph, ON. They talk about the party's platform and about what's at stake in the May 2, 2011 election for working and poor people, (im)migrants, and aboriginal people, if Big Business is successful in driving the country to the right and into the deadly clutches of a Tory majority.

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migrantmatters@cfru.ca

New film adds perspective on the lives of people working Canada's 'temporary' agricultural jobs

migrant matters — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:36:51 +0000

Despite the myth of a humanist, multicultural, and inclusive Canada, human rights abuses that keep racialized poor immigrants marginalized, persist. Aaraón Díaz Mendiburo has directed another film. His new documentary, Matices: Migración "Temporal" en Canadá (Perspectives: "Temporary" Migration in Canada), focuses on the lives and working conditions of people working under Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP).

Jose Figueroa and the human cost of Canada's refugee laws

migrant matters — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:09:18 +0000

Jose Figueroa is currently touring across Canada with his Canadian-born son as part of the "We are Jose" campaign, to reverse the May 2010 deportation order placed on him. For Jose's case, the government has chosen to label the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) as a terrorist group, and, because of this, Jose's past participation with the FMLN decades ago is being used to label him a terrorist. But, is the FMLN a terrorist organization? Jose's case highlights problems with Canadian immigration law that has led to an unfair and wrongful deportation order against him, as well as many other refugee claimants.

Canada's support for an undeniably apartheid state

migrant matters — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:43:59 +0000

How is Canada's history and present acts of colonialism and imperialism reflected in Israel's apartheid? What are Canadians doing to fight back against the illegal occupation? Is the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign for Palestine enough? Alan Sears, Ryerson University's professor of sociology and founder of Faculty for Palestine, answers all these questions and talks about the over four-decade-long struggle of Palestinians being uprooted from their homeland, and denied freedoms and status.

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migrantmatters@cfru.ca

Torturing Omar Khadr since he was a child at Guantánamo

migrant matters — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:41:37 +0000

Nine years ago, Omar Khadr, a child in a battlefield at the time, was accused of killing an American soldier. He has been imprisonned and tortured ever since the alleged incident.

Why had the U.S. refused to consider Khadr a child soldier as international law sees him? Why had the Canadian government abandoned a child in one of the most monstrously cruel jails in the world? Why does Khadr's Canadian citizenship mean nothing in this case? What has the Canadian goverment to gain from his detainment?

We interview two acclaimed directors about their new documentary, You Don't Like the Truth - 4 days inside Guantánamo, to learn more.

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migrantmatters@cfru.ca

The Cuban 5 are still behind bars 12 years later

migrant matters — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:40:23 +0000

Despite more than enough proof of their heroism and innocence, Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez, Fernando González Llort, Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, Ramón Labañino Salazar and René González Sehwerert --internationally known as the Cuban 5-- are still behind bars 12 years after their arrest on Sept.

Behind local produce: Temporary work permits leave working-poor migrants open to exploitation

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:59:27 +0000

Ever wondered how a great portion of the local Canadian produce you eat is grown, picked and packaged? About who plants and harvests many of the trees and decorative plants we buy? Learn more about what often goes on behind the scenes of food and plant production and begin to see things from the perspective of the non-citizen migrant agricultural worker. Everyday throughout the growing and harvest seasons, non-citizen people put in day-long exhausting labour so that Canadians can eat at convenience and inexpensively.

Thousands support Palestinians' right to education at World Education Forum, Montreal activist denied entry to Palestine

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:58:27 +0000

In late-October, Stefan Christoff was denied entry into Palestine on the way to publicly supporting the Palestinian people's right to education at the World Education Forum in Palestine. Stefan spoke with me via phone today from Amman, Jordan, where Israeli occupation forces had deported him to. He reflects on Israel's increased aggression towards witnesses and social justice activists, the current precarious state of Palestine's education system, and the healing work of international solidarity for a Palestine that is free from occupation, apartheid and colonialism, with a special focus on the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign.

Burma's prescripted Nov 7 polls to prolong military rule

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:57:32 +0000

The brutal military supremacy rule in Burma is the fundamental problem of the five-decade-long social, political and economic turmoil in Burma. The latest example of this is the military-engineered election to be held this coming November 7th, 2010.

Spotlight on life in a Kenyan refugee camp

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:56:43 +0000

Samuel and Malith are former refugees who lived in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. They discuss life in a refugee camp in Kenya and how they feel about living in Canada. The two are organizers with World University Service of Canada (WUSC)'s Shine A light campaign, and talk about the urgency for girls to receive more opportunities and material support for education that will give them the seed of thinking and help their society learn ways to overcome oppression.

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More accounts of martial law at Toronto G20 protests: Sema's arrest story (5 of 5)

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:56:02 +0000

During the evening of Saturday June 26th, Sema Ibbetson was at Queen's Park, the legal Toronto G20 protest zone. As she was chanting along with other protesters, hundreds of riot police officers stormed the group. She ran away from the line of police after watching them beat and tackle her friends. The protesters were saying "I am not resisting" and "You are hurting me" repeatedly.

That is a mere glimpse at the police brutality and excessive force experienced by a great number of protesters at the demonstrations that Sema had witnessed that weekend.

Sema talks about her arrest and detention, and other examples of police repression during the Toronto G20 protests of this year.

More accounts of martial law at Toronto G20 protests (4 of 5)

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:54:05 +0000

Greg Shupak speaks out about the more-than-usual rampant police brutality and indiscriminate arrests he had witnessed at the protests against the G8/20 agenda during the June 25-27 2010 weekend.

Along with criticizing the overarching culture of fear that the Canadian government has worked to create around the G8/20 summits, Greg also criticizes mainstream media's neglect of their essential role of informing us about the most important aspect of the summits: the G8/20 agenda and policies, which continue to legitimize the stifling of social and ecological well-being that's taking over the world.

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migrantmatters@cfru.ca

Thinking critically about the Canadian immigration system (3 of 3)

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:51:41 +0000

Who's let in? Who's left out? and Why?

National mythology portrays Canada as a diverse and welcoming country, but the nation’s immigration policy, migrant workforces, and deportation orders tell a different story. Are our borders really open to anyone seeking a better life? Or just to those who look like they'll "fit in" and who serve Canadian economic interests? Does the Canadian government really care about how (im)migrants live, or just how their labour can be used to work in the favour of Canadians, especially wealthier ones?

Listen in on this no-holds-barred look at the history, politics, classism and racism of the Canadian immigration system.

Featuring:

Migrant workers in Ontario embark on historic "Pilgrimage to Freedom" this Thanksgiving

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:50:28 +0000

Every day, migrant workers are met with preventable dangers at work. Ralston White and Paul Roach were two Jamaican men who had been working under the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program at Filsinger Farms near Owen Sound, Ontario. In September they became the latest victims of clear workplace health and safety violations. We hear more from Tzazna Miranda Leal with Justicia For Migrant Workers about these tragic fatalities.

Thinking critically about the Canadian immigration system (2 of 3)

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:48:54 +0000

Who's let in? Who's left out? and Why?

Listen in on this no-holds-barred look at the history, politics, classism and racism of the Canadian immigration system.

Featuring:

Immigration minister's visit to Guelph, ON met by picnic denouncing federal immigration policies

migrant matters — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:43:14 +0000

On August 31st at Riverside Park in Guelph, ON community members rallied and set up a picnic adjacent to a barbeque hosted by the Guelph Conservative Party, where the Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, or, rather, how many are increasingly calling him "Minister of Censorship and Deportation", had made an appearance.

Over 30 people had taken the time to mobolize, organizing a visible and peaceful presence in opposition to Kenney's politics, the broader immigration system, and the direction of conservative politics.

I interview members of Fuerza/Puwersa- Guelph, Guelph Young Communist League, and Justicia for Migrant Workers, just before the event.

Health & safety of migrant workers ignored

migrant matters — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:19:59 +0000

The issue of health and safety is one of central concern among migrant agricultural workers labouring under the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). Under this program that brings them to work 'temporarily' in Ontario fields, their right to health and safety has been largely deprioritized and in many cased ignored, leaving these individuals continuing to sustain the Canadian agricultural industry at great personal risk.