[van-announce] DETENTION AND DEPORTATION: BILQUIS AND IMRAN

[ha rsha]

UPCOMING DEPORTATION
TAKE ACTION TODAY!
JUSTICE FOR BILQUIS, IMRAN AND ALL PAKISTANI REFUGEES!

Bilquis and Imran remain in detention after Aug 29’s hearing and now face 
imminent deportation (within the week)

At the hearing on Friday Aug 29, 2003 Bilquis was again refused release from 
detention, as IRB claimed that Bilquis is a flight risk since she is 
unwilling to be deported back to Pakistan or the US. (A frequent catch-22 
situation that many asylum-seekers face: they are deemed a flight risk and 
thrown into detention when they express unwillingness to return to 
persecution and dangerous situations they fled from).

Furthermore, IRB made incredibly disturbing statements that since they had 
already spent an enormous amount of money, time, and manpower on this case, 
it would continue to be processed as a removal order despite the mounting 
public outrage against the detention and deportation and support for Bilquis 
and Imran. Meaning that the cost of keeping her in detention was only 
justified by her eventual removal.
Now more than ever, with Bilquis and Imran's still in detention despite 
widespread support and strong indications from IRB that they will be 
deported within the week, it is urgent and crucial that we continue to 
pressure and demand an end to the family's detention and imminent 
deportation. Letter-writing, calling, and faxing Immigration officials will 
be a crucial and determining factor in the family's release from detention.

VERY VERY URGENT EMAIL AND FAX CAMPAIGN

Thank you to the hundreds of supporters and allies who have previously 
written to Minister Coderre in support of Bilquis and Imran and all the 
Pakistani refugees.

Despite our previous attempts (three press conferences with sympathetic 
coverage- see below for recent articles, rallies at the Immigration and 
Refugee Board Offices and Citizenship and Immigration Offices, and several 
letter-writing campaigns) and tremendous support from groups including the 
McGill Center for Research and Training on Women, the Union United 
Church-Little Burgundy, and members of the NDP and UFP.

The family requires your support, please take immediation action NOW to 
demand their release and stop the deportation.

Please be polite but firm in letters, and see below for sample letter and 
backgrounder with important points to stress in your phone call, fax or 
email. PLEASE ACT TODAY !

Solidarity and struggle, friends and neigbours of Bilquis and Imran, Action 
Committee, No One is Illegal, and REBELdesis. Contact nooneisillegal at tao.ca 
or call 514-409-2049.


*** SAMPLE LETTER *** TAKE ACTION !!!

Please be polite but firm in letters, and see below for sample letter with 
important points to stress in your phone call, fax or email.

René D'Aoust, director of Investigations and Removals: (514) 496-1238

The contact information of the Ottawa office of the Minister of Citizenship 
and
Immigration, Denis Coderre, is:
Phone: (613) 957-0312
Fax: (613) 957-2688
Email: Minister at cic.gc.ca

His contact information in the House of Commons is:
House of Commons
Phone: (613) 995-6108
Fax: (613) 995-9755
Email: coderd at parl.gc.ca

His Montreal office contact information is:
Constituency Office(s)
Phone: (514) 323-1212
Fax: (514) 323-2875
Email: Coderd1 at parl.gc.ca


September 3, 2003

Honorable Minister Coderre:

I would like to draw your particular attention to the case of Mrs. Bilquis 
Fatima, a Pakistani woman and her 17 year old son Imran Hussain who are 
being held in the Laval Detention Centre in Montreal and will be deported 
back to either Pakistan or the United States in the coming days.

Bilquis Fatima is 64 years old. She is in extremely poor health, uses a 
wheelchair, has had two heart attacks and needs kidney dialysis three times 
a week. She and her son have been in Montreal for the past three years 
during which time her refugee claim was in process.

Bilquis fled Pakistan after the murder of her husband. She belongs to a 
minority community in Pakistan which has been under attack and has 
well-founded fears that if she goes back to Pakistan, her life and the life 
of her son will be in danger. In addition, she is in no condition to remain 
in detention or make the long and life-threatening trip back to Pakistan or 
the US.

Bilquis and Imran faced two detention review hearings in the past two 
months. During both hearings they were refused release from detention as IRB 
judges were claiming that Bilquis was a flight risk since she is unwilling 
to be deported back to Pakistan or the US, a catch-22 situation. If deported 
to Pakistan, she has well-founded fears for her and her son’s life. If 
deported to the US, she will surely be put into detention without concern 
for her medical condition.

At her hearing, claims were also made that since too much money, time, and 
manpower had gone into processing this case, the decision would not be 
reversed. I find it deplorable that a family, in particular as elderly 
woman’s, right to dignity and a livelihood is being overshadowed by concerns 
for bureaucratic efficiency.

I urge you to please consider the mounting support for Bilquis from various 
church groups, student groups, womens groups, members of political parties 
and community organiziations. Intervene in the case of Bilquis and 
demonstrate a commitment to values of compassion and dignity.  Bilquis’ 
medical condition is worsening and the worst can be expected if this removal 
is carried through. On these grounds, the Minister should postpone the 
deportation date, and immediately stay the deportation order. Bilquis and 
Imran have filed a humanitarian and compassionate review claim for permanent 
residence and the Minister should at least consider this claim in a fair and 
just manner before proceeding with their deportation.

Sincerely,

*******************************************************

BACKGROUND:
63-YEAR OLD WOMAN AND MINOR REMAIN IN DETENTION

Immigration and Refugee Board announced that it would indefinitely continue 
the detention of Bilquis Fatima in critical medical condition, and her son 
Imran Hussain, a minor, pending their removal to the United States. Bilquis 
Fatima, currently using a wheelchair, is a 63-year-old woman with a serious 
heart condition and diabetes, who can not live without dialysis three times 
a week. She and her son have been incarcerated in the Laval Immigration 
Prevention Centre for over a month. During this period her medical condition 
has deteriorated drastically.

Mrs. Bilqis fled Pakistan for Montreal with her son three years ago, 
following the murder of her husband by sectarian vigilantes. The murder took 
place in the context of escalated violence in Pakistan which has claimed the 
lives of hundreds of civilian lives, as documented by Amnesty International 
and Human Rights Watch. Despite these facts, the refugee claims of Mrs. 
Bilqis and her son were rejected.

Since the last month in detention, her medical condition has deteriorated 
further and she was hospitalized last week for one night because her 
sky-rocketing blood sugar levels were causing complications, resulting in 
her feet swelling up and bleeding, which if left untreated, can cause 
gangrene. She has been vomiting the past two weeks and her kidney function 
is 15% of normal. Three weeks ago, supporters visiting the family in 
detention were shown an expired inhaler given to Bilquis. (Eight years ago, 
Michael Akhimen, an asylum-seeker from Nigeria held in detention in the 
Celebrity Inn Immigration Holding Center in Toronto, died of diabetic 
ketoacidosis after receiving inadequate medical attention in December 1995.)

However, Mrs. Bilqis has received medical notification that she is in no 
condition to survive the long and difficult voyage back to Pakistan. 
Immigration Canada is therefore now attempting to remove the family to their 
port of entry, the United States. Mrs. Bilqis and her son do not know anyone 
in the United States, and will have no access to the medical facilities she 
urgently needs to live. Moreover, US immigration policy suggests that the 
family will likely be removed from the US to Pakistan, regardless of the 
threat to Mrs. Bilqis’s life.

Demands of the campaign are that:
1) Immigration Canada release her from detention immediately and arrange 
proper medical care for her and reinstate their access to social services.
2) At least no removal take place to either Pakistan or the US prior to the 
Humanitarian and Compassionate claim being processed in a fair and just 
manner
3) Further we demand that she and her son be given full status in Canada on 
humanitarian grounds.
.
************************************************************************

RECENT ARTICLES

1) GLOBE AND MAIL
Refugee bids refused, Pakistanis say
By BERTRAND MAROTTE
Tuesday, September 2, 2003 - Page A4

MONTREAL -- A wheelchair-bound 63-year-old Pakistani woman with a serious 
medical condition is among a growing group of refugee claimants from 
Pakistan being targeted for deportation from Canada in the current climate 
of fear, activists say.

Bilquis Fatima fled Pakistan with her son, who is now 17, two years ago via 
the United States, winding up in Montreal and claiming refugee status on the 
grounds that sectarian vigilantes killed her husband, her lawyer Stewart 
Istvanffy said.
She has been in detention for the past two months and faces deportation to 
the United States, and then likely to Pakistan, unless the office of 
Immigration Minister Denis Coderre intervenes directly, Mr. Istvanffy said.
The woman has a serious heart condition and diabetes, requires dialysis 
treatment three times a week and medical authorities have deemed her unfit 
to travel.
Her case and many others -- which have grown at an alarming rate recently in 
the Montreal area -- reflect confusion on the part of Immigration Canada 
authorities about the situation in Pakistan, said Mr. Istvanffy, a 
human-rights lawyer. Officials in Mr. Coderre's office were not available to 
comment yesterday.
The hunt for terrorists -- such as the recent raid that netted 19 Pakistani 
men in the Toronto area, some of them suspected of making false refugee 
claims -- has dictated a blanket approach by Immigration Department 
officials who reject genuine claims, Mr. Istvanffy said.
While agreeing that Canada needs to protect its citizens, Mr. Istvanffy said 
the refugee evaluation process can be refined to ensure that valid claimants 
get fair hearings.
Sarwat Viqar, of the South Asian Women's Community Centre in Montreal, said 
an estimated 200 Pakistanis in Montreal are facing deportation.
"There seems to be a lack of knowledge about the political situation in 
Pakistan," she said. "The state is not providing protection to victims of 
the violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims and there have been 
well-documented public attacks and bombings, but Canadian officials don't 
seem to recognize this."
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented the loss of 
hundreds of civilian lives due to religious and political strife in 
Pakistan.
Amnesty International's 2003 country report for Pakistan says the state 
"continued to ignore abuses inflicted by private individuals or groups 
against members of minority communities. At least 40 members of the minority 
Shia community, mainly doctors and other professionals, and some 65 
Westerners and Christians died in targeted killings.
"Preventive and protective measures were non-existent or inadequate, and 
action was taken to investigate such killings only following domestic and 
international pressure."
According to the Montreal-based Action Committee Against the Racial 
Profiling of Pakistani Refugees, about 400 Pakistani refugee claimants face 
deportation and detention in Canada because of the "unfair rejection of 
their applications by the Immigration and Refugee Board."
Thousands of Pakistanis, most of them illegal immigrants, flooded across the 
border from the United States into Quebec and Ontario earlier this year 
after a terrorism-related crackdown by the U.S. government.

Refugee claims from Pakistanis in Canada reached almost the same level in 
the first six months of 2003 as in all of 2002 -- 3,880 -- according to 
recent statistics cited by the Immigration and Refugee Board.


2) THE GAZETTE
Disabled 'flight risk' in detention
Mother, son fighting deportation. Supporters say sectarian violence in 
Pakistan puts minority Shia Muslims in mortal danger

LEVON SEVUNTS
Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Bilquees Fatima, 63, can barely walk, suffers from a heart condition and 
needs dialysis treatment for kidney failure three times a week.
Yet to Canadian immigration authorities, she and her 17-year-old son, Imran 
Hussain, fighting deportation to their native Pakistan, represent a flight 
risk.
So since June 25, Fatima, who uses a wheelchair, and Hussain have been kept 
in detention at the Immigration Detention Centre in Laval, while their case 
goes through the last motions before a deportation date is set.
In a telephone interview from the detention centre, Hussain said his 
mother's condition has deteriorated.
"The situation is very bad," Hussain said. "The food is bad. She is not 
getting the medication. She is losing her hair and her feet are swollen. And 
she is constantly suffering from pain and depression."

Speaking at a rally in support of Fatima and Hussain in front of the 
Citizenship and Immigration Department offices downtown yesterday, Harsha 
Walia of No One Is Illegal, a refugee rights advocacy group, said their case 
is just the latest example of systemic discrimination in the Canadian 
refugee system.
"People are criminalized for the fact they have asked for political asylum," 
Walia said.
Walia also accused Canadian authorities of trying to wash their hands of the 
problem by shipping Fatima and Hussain to the United States, through which 
they passed on their way to Canada.
Robert Gervais, a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration, said he 
could not discuss the case unless Fatima signs a consent form for the 
release of personal information.
About 30 Pakistani Shias whose refugee claims have also been turned down 
came to show support for Fatima and Hussain.
The protesters also demanded that Canadian authorities stop deportations to 
Pakistan.
Ali Hasanie, chairperson of the Action Committee Against Racial Profiling of 
Pakistanis, delivered an open letter to Immigration Minister Denis Coderre, 
demanding Fatima and Hussain be given legal status in Canada on humanitarian 
grounds.

As members of the Shia minority in a predominantly Sunni country that's rife 
with sectarian violence, Fatima and her son face the possibility of violent 
death at the hands of Sunni extremists, who consider Shias heretics, Hasanie 
said.
The July 4 attack on a Shia mosque in Quetta that killed 50 people is the 
latest example of what Shia Muslims face in Pakistan and shows the inability 
of Pakistani authorities to protect minorities from extremist groups like 
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which has spread through Pakistan, Hasanie said.
Fighting back tears, Shahim Ahtar, who also faces deportation to Pakistan, 
said she would rather kill herself and her daughters than return to Pakistan 
to face certain torture, rape and death if the family doesn't convert to the 
Sunni creed.
Hussain, too, said he fears that if they are deported to Pakistan, he and 
his mother will be killed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi goons as soon as they land at 
the airport.
Hussain said Lashkar-e-Jhangvi killed his father in March 2001 and forced 
his four brothers into hiding. But Pakistani authorities accuse his mother 
of murdering his father.
"Why would she kill her husband?" Hussain said. "Why would she kill the 
father of her 10 children?"

3) THE GAZETTE
Wheelchair-bound Pakistani woman, son to stay in detention
The Montreal Gazette
Friday, August 01, 2003
Federal immigration authorities decided yesterday to continue detention of a 
wheelchair-bound Pakistani woman and her teenage son, who are fighting 
deportation after their refugee claim was turned down.
Bilquees Fatima, 63, suffers from kidney failure that requires her to 
undergo dialysis treatment once every 48 hours; she has a host of other 
health problems and can barely walk.
She and her son, Imran Hussain, 17, will remain at the Laval detention 
centre because immigration authorities consider them a flight risk, said 
Laila Malik, a refugee rights activist.
"We were stunned at the outcome," Malik said. "Most of us were expecting a 
modicum of humanity from the authorities."
Fatima and Hussain have been detained since June 25.
They could be deported to either their native Pakistan or the United States, 
even though the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service hasn't agreed to 
allow them to enter the country.
No arrangements have been made for Fatima to continue to get medical 
treatment in the U.S., Malik said.


4) THE GAZETTE
Mother, son to stay in detention
LEVON SEVUNTS The Montreal Gazette - August 30, 2003

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/story.asp?id=265520A6-CFC8-4180-AB99-19864BD381CE

Federal immigration authorities decided once again yesterday to continue 
detention of a wheelchair-bound Pakistani woman and her teenage son, who are 
fighting deportation after their refugee claim was turned down.

Bilquees Fatima, 63, who suffers from kidney failure that requires her to 
undergo dialysis treatment every 48 hours and has a host of other health 
problems, and her 17-year-old son Imran Hussain have been detained since 
June 25.

She and her son will remain at the Laval detention centre for another 30 
days because immigration authorities consider them a flight risk, said their 
lawyer Stewart Istvanffy.

Robert Gervais, a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration, said 
Fatima's removal to the U.S. was "very imminent."

Istvanffy said he suspects the immigration authorities will try to deport 
Fatima and Hussain within a week.

Fatima's condition has deteriorated to the point she might not even survive 
the short trip to the U.S. border, Istvanffy said. He also questioned 
whether the U.S. authorities would provide her with the same level of 
medical care she receives in Canada.

Gervais said Canadian immigration authorities are working with their U.S. 
counterparts to make sure Fatima receives adequate medical care.

Patrick Giantonio, the executive director of Vermont Refugee Assistance and 
the Vermont Immigration Project, said he would be very surprised if that 
were the case.

In the U.S., Fatima and Hussain would be released on their own recognizance, 
he said.

"There will be no agency there to greet them, no medical services waiting to 
respond to Mrs. Fatima's substantial medical needs," Giantonio said in a 
telephone interview.

Rev. Darryl Gray of Union United Church, representing the interfaith 
coalition formed to support refugee claimants, accused Ottawa of trying to 
wash its hands of the problem by shipping Fatima and Hussain to the U.S., 
through which they passed on their way to Canada.

Gray, who attended the detention review hearing, said Ottawa puts Fatima in 
a Catch 22 situation: She'll remain in detention as long as she continues to 
honestly state she doesn't want to return to her native Pakistan, providing 
immigration authorities with an excuse to call her a flight risk.

"They are forcing people to lie," Gray said. "What the heck is going on 
here? She said that she didn't want to go to Pakistan; she didn't say that 
she won't go."

Gray also ridiculed the notion a wheelchair-bound woman who needs a dialysis 
treatment four times a week will somehow go underground.

Gervais said that's exactly what Fatima and Hussain had done prior to their 
arrest.
Fatima and her son failed to appear for their deportation hearing in 
February, he said.
"We did not hear from her for several months," Gervais said. "It's only when 
we received a call from the hospital, asking us who is going to pay her 
medical bills that we found out she was still in Canada.
"It's been demonstrated that she has the capacity to elude the immigration 
department even with her medical condition."

lsevunts at thegazette.canwest.com

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