[news] {UPDATE!} Montreal - Stop the Deportation of Shamim Akhtar & her Family to Pakistan!

[Stefan Christoff]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 21:27:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: No One is Illegal Montreal <noii-montreal at resist.ca>


TAKE A STAND AGAINST DEPORTATIONS!
Stop the Deportation of Shamim Akhtar & her Family to Pakistan!

The Akhtar family is facing deportation from Canada on Tuesday June 29th
at 8 AM and it is only with your collective action and solidarity that
this deportation can be halted. The Akhtar family is one of the most
active families within the Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees and
Shamim is key organizer and spokespersons of the Women's Committee of
Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees. Their situation carries huge
implications for the Action Committee, which has been fighting
deportations from Montreal for over one year.

It is still possible to win this fight against deportation, as many
community groups, organizations and activists have been involved in the
families struggle against the efforts of Citizenship and Immigration
Canada to deport them. Outlined in the message below are concrete ways in
which individuals, groups and organizations can support this struggle
against deportation. It is only with your active participation and support
that this unjust deportation can be halted!

In Solidarity,
The Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees
No One is Illegal - Montreal
514 812 0858 / noii-montreal at resist.ca

In This Message:

1) Continue to Call / Fax
2) Funding Appeal
3) Background Information

============================>
CALL / FAX / EMAIL CAMPAIGN
============================>

==> LOCALLY it is crucial we pressure those officials who have the
discretion to stop the deportation. Please be polite but firm in your
demands to BOTH Directors at CIC Montreal:

Cathy Chan {Assistant Manager, Investigations & Removals}
tel: 514 496-1386
fax: 514 496-1882

Anne-Marie Signori {Immigration Canada - Montreal}:
Tel: 514 283 0226
Fax: 514 496 1882

Rene D'Aoust {Director of Removals}:
Tel: 514 496 1238
Fax: 514 496 1882
Courriel: rene.daoust at cic.gc.ca

==> CC MESSAGES TO THE MINISTERS BELOW:

Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Fax: 613 947 8319, Tel: 613 992 7774
E-mail: Minister at cic.gc.ca

Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
c/o Solicitor General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Fax: 613 990-9077, Tel: 613 991 2924
E-mail: McLellan.A at parl.gc.ca

DEMAND A STAY OF DEPORTATION ON HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS!!!


==> POINTS TO STRESS:

- The danger the family faces in Pakistan given the rise in sectarian
violence in the past month in particular
- That IRB themselves have reports that affirm that the banning of the SSP
as a terrorist organization has not led to a decrease in sectarian
violence
- The children's incredible participation and achievements in school and
the community
- Sameer is Canadian-born and it is the governments duty to ensure that he
remains with his family in a safe environment

=======================>
URGENT FUNDING APPEAL!
=======================>

Over and above the extensive COST of lawyers' fees, we are trying to raise
funds to cover the cost of materials, transportation and money for the
family to survive in the US in the case they are deported. Your financial
solidarity for the political fight against the Akhtar familyÕs deportation
is extremely important.

If you are able to donate money to help cover these costs, please make
checks out to No One is Illegal Montreal with Shamim in the memo field.

Mail Checks to:

No One is Illegal Montreal
C/o QPIRG Concordia
1420 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 404
Montreal, Quebec
H3G 1K5

=======================>
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
=======================>

Shamim Akhtar, her husband Naeem Khan, her daughter Sadaf Ali Khan (16
years old), daughter Sadia Ali Khan (14 years old), son Shan Ali Khan (12
years old) and son Sameer Ali Khan (2 years old) are facing deportation
from Montreal, Canada on June 29, 2004.

The family was refused as refugee claimants in Montreal in August 2002
despite the grave risk they face if deported to Pakistan, either directly
or indirectly through the United States. In Karachi, Pakistan the family
were the direct targets of the militant and sectarian organization
Sipeh-e-Sahaba (SSP). Naeem was beaten and brutalized several times,
including once with bicycle chains, while Shamim and her daughters were
held at gun point in thier homes.

The family came to Canada in the hopes of finding a more humane refugee
determination system affording them the protection they sought and
deserved. Their refugee hearing took place in August 2002. They were
subsequently denied on patently unfair grounds.

The judge ruled that there was no significant threat to their life,
especially considering that President Musharraf had outlawed the SSP and
that order had been restored. This is clearly contrary to the IRB's own
reports (including US State Department reports that the judge misquoted)
and given the reality in Pakistan this past month alone: at least two
suicide bombings, numerous assualts, targeted killings and shoot-outs,
with Karachi being held under curfew last week. The rise in violence is
pervasive throughout Karachi, Lahore, Queta and other Pakistani areas.

An Amnesty report confirms that “President Musharraf banned five more
organizations including the SSP, but most of these announcements were only
inadequately implemented; the ban on sectarian organizations was not fully
enforced. In the last three years have seen an upsurge of systematic
targeted killings of people particularly in Karachi.” This can certainly
be supported in light of recent serious violence in Karachi and Lahore
over the past month.

While in Canada, the family has been extremely involved in trying to raise
awareness about refugees and about hundreds of others facing similar
desperate situations. Their youngest son Sameer is Canadian born and it is
the duty of the Canadian government to provide a stable and safe home for
him in Montreal. Sadaf, their eldest daughter, is an extraordinary athlete
and student, having won several gold medals at her school. Sadia was the
best Science student in her class, while Shan has recieved gold medals on
his track and field team. The children are fluent in English and French
and their parents are hard working.

DEMAND A STAY OF DEPORTATION ON HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS!
JUSTICE FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES!