[van-announce] Urgent action: Let Dr. Salam Ismael into Canada!

[Derrick O'Keefe]

***Please take the time to send a letter, either as an individual or on 
behalf of organizations -- Dr. Salam Ismael was slated to speak in Vancouver 
on August 4.***

Action Call:
Canadian Peace Alliance guest denied entry to Canada
by Sid Lacombe, Coordinator, CPA

The Canadian Peace Alliance is in the process of organizing a speaking tour 
with a Dr. Salam Ismael, General Secretary for Doctors for Iraq which is an 
agency that organizes medical aid in Iraq. He was in Iraq from the start of 
the war and continues his work there setting up field hospitals to this day. 
He worked in Fallujah during the first siege in April and November 2004. His 
first hand accounts of the occupation are a valuable resource for anti-war 
activists all over the world.

For more info on Dr Salam and Doctors for Iraq see:
http://demandmedia.net/story/2004/12/28/163712/18
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/DrSalam.htm

Dr Salam has been denied access to Canada by the Canadian embassy in Jordan. 
The reasons for this refusal are ridiculous. He was, for example, told that 
he had “insufficient employment opportunities in his home country (Iraq)” 
and therefore posed a risk to stay in Canada. The lack of employment 
opportunities in Iraq are hardly his fault but more importantly his travel 
records show that he has traveled extensively all over Europe and Asia and 
has always returned to his family in Iraq and to his incredibly valuable 
work there.

We are asking our member groups and individuals to help by writing, faxing 
and calling the Canadian Ambassador in Jordan and in particular the 
Immigration minister at the following numbers to demand that Dr. Salam be 
allowed to come to Canada for his tour. You may need to refer to his case 
number which is V050600215

Mr. John Holmes, Canadian ambassador in Jordan at amman at international.gc.ca
Telephone (011 962 6) 566 6124 , Fax (011 962 6) 567 3081

And

Immigration minister Joe Volpe:  In Ottawa at: 613-992-6361 or Fax at 
613-992-9791
In Toronto at: 416-781-5583 or Fax at 416-781-5586 or by e-mail 
Minister at cic.gc.ca
For further background, Dr Salam has written a letter describing the 
situation himself.

To All Honest People in Canada
To All Friends , Brothers and Sisters in Solidarity

Greetings from the Iraqi doctors,

Dear Friends,

My name is Salam Ismael, I am 29 years old and am an Iraqi doctor. I was 
chief of the junior doctors in Iraq and I am now general secretary of an 
Iraqi NGO called Doctors for Iraq Society.

Our organisation consists of young doctors who have worked across Iraq from 
the south to the north of the country. During the current occupation I was 
one of a team of doctors who found ourselves under siege inside Fallujah and 
witnessed the barbaric acts and crimes carried out by US soldiers in the 
name of liberating my people.

Recently I was with a group of doctors in the Hadetha hospital, west Iraq, 
when US occupation forces launched a new military operation in the area. I 
witnessed them commit new crimes and violate the Geneva Convention by 
preventing patients from getting access to health care. We witnessed how the 
American troops burned the medical stores in the hospital which is the main 
one in the west area of Iraq and how they killed an injured patient while he 
was in his bed.

I have travelled all over the world (Egypt, Holland, Ireland, Norway, 
Cyprus, Jordan and the UK) representing Iraqi doctors and talking about our 
experiences as health professionals working under occupation. On July 17th, 
I have been invited to address the second people’s health assembly in 
Equador

Dear Friends, I tried through the invitation from my friends in the Canadian 
Peace Alliance, to participate in a speaking tour of Canada. I have been 
asked to talk at venues in a number of cities to highlight the abuse of 
basic human rights and the impact that the occupation is having on the 
health care system in Iraq. I am also hoping to make contact with similar 
human rights and medical organisations In Canada so that I can help forge 
links with like-minded people who want to show solidarity and help the 
people of Iraq.

I applied for a visa to visit Canada, and I submitted my passport which 
contained all the visas from other countries that I mentioned earlier. I 
submitted a document which was signed and stamped from the NGO that I work 
for explaining that I still work with the organisation and I receive a fixed 
salary from them.

I showed the staff at the embassy my ID card from the hospital that I work 
in and from the Iraqi Medical Association.  I presented all these along with 
my letter of invitation and wasn’t asked a single question about the nature 
of my visa application. The only question the officer asked me was if my 
expenses would be covered by the CPA and I responded that yes, my expenses 
would be covered.

I was told to return a few hours later to get the response. Later, when I 
returned I was given a piece of paper that stated that I had been refused a 
visa, on the grounds that I had failed to convince the officer in the 
Embassy of my reasons to travel to Canada or satisfy any of the embassy’s 
concerns about why I wanted to travel to Canada.

Is this what the west means by human rights and justice? Is this freedom of 
speech and equality? I believe that the reason why I have been denied entry 
to Canada is for racist reasons or there is a political agenda behind my 
visa request being denied.

I feel very hurt and offended by the way that I have been treated- but I 
will continue with my work as will my fellow doctors and Iraqi citizens to 
show to the outside world what is being done to our country and our families 
and loved ones all in the name of western democracy and freedom. Nothing 
will silence us from speaking the truth and showing the truth. But we need 
you to keep pushing to stop the racism and the injustice from your side.

Before Che Guevara was killed by soldiers who had been tormenting him he 
smiled at them and said, “The revolution will never die if there are people 
who believe in it”.

I want to thank every one of you for showing solidarity and for showing your 
love and kindness to my people. I hope Insh’allah one day to see you in a 
free Iraq and I also hope to meet you one day in Canada with my Iraqi 
passport.

I am so thankful for the Canadian Peace Alliance that they gave me the 
chance to speak to you and for their support and help. Thanks Sid, Thanks 
Ali and thanks to all.

Love and regards

Dr. Salam T. Ismael
General secretary
Droctors for Iraq Society