Wednesday, December 15, 2010

No One Is Illegal Ottawa Statement on the Deaths in the Christmas Island Boat Crash

Wednesday December 15th 2010

No One Is Illegal (Ottawa) was saddened to hear the tragic news this morning of the deaths in the Christmas Island boat crash. The roughly 70 asylum seekers aboard the boat were part of the massive worldwide population of people pushed into increasingly dangerous situations in their migration to safer or better places for themselves and their families.

Inhumane immigration laws force desperate people to risk their lives -- and the lives of their loved ones-- in order to flee violent repressive governments, poverty, political persecution, war and environmental destruction. People know their chances are better with human smugglers and rickety boats than western immigration laws.

"According the UN refugee agency, an estimated 848 people died or went missing in 2009 in Italy, Yemen, Spain, and Greece — the main areas worldwide of large-scale migration," reports the Globe and Mail.

"Climbing over razor wire fences, taking to sea in leaking boats or stowing away in airless containers, refugees and migrants around the world risk their lives every day in desperate attempts to find safety or a better life," the UNHCR says on its website.

No One Is Illegal (Ottawa) believes that migrants are pushed into these dangerous situations by increasingly restrictive and xenophobic immigration policies in countries such as Greece, Australia, Canada and the United States. First world countries are making it harder and harder for refugees and immigrants to cross borders. The residents of Christmas Island were throwing life jackets to the refugees, while the Australian government continues dragging its heels on creating a welcoming refugee policy. We firmly believe that these deaths are on the hands of racist politicians who have been viciously attacking the right to migrate, the right to stay and the right to return to one's homeland.

Here in Canada, Jason Kenney, Minister of Censorship and Deportations, has been attacking migrants and refugee claimants who travel by irregular means, such as the Tamils of the MV Sun Sea, labelling them as terrorists and queue-jumpers. Currently the Conservative party is trying to pass bill C-49, a bill that would throw what they call "irregular migrants" and those who help them (often referred to as smugglers) into mandatory detention sentences, with no avenues for appeal. We oppose such racist legislations and will continue to fight by the side of all those who struggle for a better, safer life.

In response to these tragic deaths, we say NO ONE IS ILLEGAL – OPEN ALL BORDERS.

Resources

In defense for human smuggling!http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/507