View Point                                                                         Abid Ullah Jan

Good But Incomplete Idea

The Globe and Mail called on the Canadian government to hold an inquiry into the Arar case in its November 5th editorial. It is a good idea, but unfortunately its lack of concern for non-citizens suffering at the hands of the Canadian government makes the call hollow at its very core.

We need to ask the question of whether this inquiry is necessary just because Mr. Arar is a Canadian citizen or if such an inquiry needs to be extended in order to cover all those cases where other human beings who also directly suffer due to one or another policy of the Canadian government.

Is citizenship alone the core principle for demanding justice? As a matter of principle, the inquiry is not necessary because Mr. Arar is a Canadian citizen. It is required because he is a human being, who has been treated inhumanly and deserves to recieve justice.

If we demand an inquiry with the spirit of humanity rather than citizenship alone, we will come to realise that there are many others who are pushed into the hands of the same tyrants by the Canadian government on an almost daily basis. We are, however, silent because the victims are not Canadian citizens - so much so for our sense of humanity and justice.

Issuing deportation orders in cases where the government fully knows that the deported persons would end up in the hands of one or another tyrant is nothing less than intentionally dispatching non-citizen human beings to the horrible graves that Mr. Arar has described in detail in his press conference.

The Canadian government, in addition to holding an inquiry into the Arar case, should also take concrete steps to save many other human beings - regardless of their nationality - from facing such inhumanity.

There are thousands upon thousands of refugees who have obtained protection in Canada through chicanery and deceit, and who can be exposed with very little effort on the part of the government. At the same time, there are individuals who are the real victims of oppression abroad but are either on deportation-row or have already been removed from Canadian soil only to face circumstances worse than they left behind when they came to seek protection in Canada in the first place.
The Canadian government should bring some sanity into the way the Immigration Refugee Board (IRB) handles refugee cases. Different IRB judges' dealing with similar cases in different manners is a sign not only of a lack of uniform standards, but also an example of sheer injustice.

It is not an acceptable standard when one IRB jusge accepts almost 99 percent of applicants for refugee status and another rejects cases with almost the same percentage. If this is the standard, where is justice? If this is justice, we better shed a tear for its standards.

Activists for the rights of Canadian citizens, as well as those who are engaged on behalf of refugees, need to focus on the multiple and inconsistent standards of the IRB because immigration officials follow decisions made by the IRB judges. Although the Refugee Board is an extension of the Immigration Department, and immigration officials have the authority to suspend any refugee's hearing before the Refugee Board, nevertheless immigration needs a rejection of a case by the IRB before they put him on plane to meet his fate at the hands of one or another tyrant.

When someone such as Mr. Arar ends up in the isolation cells of these tyrants, it matters little if he is a Canadian or not. All are equal human beings facing horrible consequences for one or another contrived reason. The label of citizenship should not hold us from saving human beings from becoming victims of such inhuman treatment.
Those who suffer in countries such as Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Algeria, etc., are outside the direct hold of the Canadian government. However, the victims of oppression, who some how manage to seek refuge in Canada, need not be thrown to the wolves in such an unjust manner. It makes the Canadian government a partner in the crimes of these various dictators against humanity.

From my experience of living as a refugee in Canada for close to one year, I have come to the conclusion that the IRB needs serious reforms. The reason is that for every single citizen that suffers abroad, there are dozens of non-citizens that directly suffer far more seriously due to lack of concern by the Canadian government.

Unless the IRB has been established with the purpose of screening and picking only those applicants who could be "economically productive" for Canada, I hope the Canadian government would pay serious attention to the plight of those who really deserve protection. At the same time, it needs to weed out those who are manipulating the government's good intentions and exploiting a system designed for giving protection to those who are facing death traps from which Mr. Arar could escape just because he was a Canadian citizen.