[IPSM] SOLIDARITY ASSEMBLY for Palestinian Refugees Facing Deportation - Tuesday June 1st

[Stefan Christoff]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:45:01 -0400
From: Palestinian Refugees Montreal <refugees at riseup.net>


SOLIDARITY ASSEMBLY for Palestinian Refugees Facing Deportation

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Tuesday June 1st at 6:30 PM
Notre-Dame de Grace Church
5333 avenue Notre-Dame-de-Grace
(métro Villa-Maria)
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Currently in Montreal there are dozens of Palestinian refugees facing
deportation from Canada in the coming weeks and months. They face
deportation to the illegal and deadly Israeli military occupation, which
plagues daily life throughout Occupied Palestine and to the violence,
poverty and persecution which defines daily life in the Palestinian
refugee camps throughout Lebanon.

An organizational assembly will take place on Tuesday June 1st, to show
solidarity with the Ayoub family, currently in Sanctuary in Notre-Dame de
Grace church, & establish concrete support for the recently filed
Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds (H&C) claims, which if accepted
will grant the refugee applicants permanent resident status in Canada.

Specifically, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian
Refugees is looking for groups and organizations to support individual
Palestinian humanitarian claims. This support can be applied in a variety
of ways, including letter, email and fax campaigns, delegations to
accompany the refugees to their Immigration Canada interviews, and support
and sponsorship for individual refugee humanitarian applications.

This assembly is essential in order to build a concrete network of support
for each H&C application and to organize for upcoming political actions in
solidarity with the Notre-Dame de Grace church, who has provided Sanctuary
for the Ayoub family since they received a deportation order to the
refugee camp of Ein el Hilweh, Lebanon.  This is an extremely urgent
situation as most of the Palestinian refugees will receive deportation
orders this summer, and their situation is becoming increasingly
unbearable. The H&C applications for permanent resident status are a
concrete means for both supporting and demanding justice for the
Palestinian refugees. With our collective action and solidarity we will
ensure that no Palestinian refugees are deported.

Throughout the past year the Coalition Against the Deportation of
Palestinian Refugees, has organized a strong and vibrant political
campaign, which has seen  a weekly picket outside of the Montreal offices
of Immigration Canada, as well as street demonstrations, which have
brought hundreds of people to the streets of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver
and Ottawa.

To date, hundreds of calls, faxes, emails and letters have been sent to
Minister Sgro, in support of the Coalition's demands, which have to this
point been endorsed by over 140 groups and organizations throughout
Quebec, Canada & the world. Furthermore, there have been lengthy
discussions with Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC), and numerous
visits to their offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. Yet,
we have not been given any clear response, let alone just solution, for
the Palestinian refugees facing deportation.

It is for the above reasons that the Palestinian refugees need your
support and your participation in this solidarity assembly. It is
unacceptable that the Palestinian refugees, who have suffered for so long
in refugee camps and under military occupation, continue to suffer here in
Canada. This is an appeal from the Palestinian refugees to all the
organizations to participate in this assembly.

The two demands of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian
refugees to Citizenship & Immigration Canada are:

1. To stop the deportations of the Palestinian refugees from Canada,
2. To grant them permanent residency on Humanitarian and Compassionate
grounds.

In Solidarity,
Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinians Refugees
For more Information: refugees at riseup.net / 514.591-317

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