He stays away from
the doors when they are open. He sees
his wife and children on weekends only when they come to visit. He mingles with those who enter the building,
but no one else. He never steps outside.
He watches at night as the surveillance officers park outside or drive by. They are the only people he sees at
night. No, José is not paranoid. Nor is he a criminal in prison. He stays away from the open doors because the
smell of fresh air flowing into the building makes his heart ache. It reminds
him of what it was like to be able to go for walks, go to work, pay taxes and
play with his children in the backyard. He cannot help his sister look after
their shared townhome or lend tools to the neighbours. Nor can he carry the grocery bags into the
house or pick up the mail or fix the car or read bedtime stories to his young
children. He cannot go to the doctor
with his autistic son or hold his daughters’ hands as they wait for their
dentist appointment. He cannot go to a
movie or play cards with family and friends. He cannot be the husband, father,
brother, neighbour or citizen he wants to be.
He cannot be the man he once was.
José is in sanctuary
at Walnut Grove Lutheran Church in British Columbia because the Canadian Immigration
and Refugee Board issued a deportation order for his wife and him. Jose and his
wife have lived in Canada for thirteen years and in that time have been trying to
gain refugee status. His children, born here, are Canadian citizens. After an
application for humanitarian and compassionate grounds to stay in Canada, his
wife has been allowed to stay, for now, and has been put back in the process to
apply for residency status, so she can look after the children. Jose, however, is still under a deportation
order.
In 1997, José and his
wife left El Salvador to immigrate to Canada and claim refugee status. When Jose was in his twenties, he was an
university student (he graduated with a bachelor's degree in education) and a member of the FMLN - Frente Farabundo Martí de Liberación Nacional
(translation: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front). At the time, this organization
fought against the government’s military dictatorship and the death squads that
commonly kidnapped, tortured, and murdered innocent citizens. As general secretary
of the student union, Jose’s role in the FMLN was to educate other students
about the political situation, the suffering of the Salvadorians, and the
social reality in El Salvador. He talked
to other students about the need to fight for the lives and rights of Salvadorian
citizens.
The issue, according to a Canadian
Border Services Agency (CBSA) agent that dealt with Jose and his wife’s application
for refugee status, is that the FMLN is a terrorist organization and because of
his association with the organization, José is inadmissible to Canada. The problem
with this is that there
is no substantial reasoning or basis for this decision because the FMLN is not
listed on Public Safety Canada’s list of terrorist entities, nor is it on the
United States’ Foreign Terrorist Organization list or the UN’s list of
terrorist organizations. In fact, the FMLN is a legal political party in El Salvador with many elected FMLN politicians including mayors in in many of the large cities in El Salvador and since 1997 Canada has enjoyed a mutually beneficial diplomatic
relationship with El Salvador since 1961. El Salvador has an embassy in Canada.
Canada’s reputation in El Salvador is based on support for human rights and
refugee assistance.[1] Remarkably, the FMLN’s fight has always been
for the human rights of their citizens.
Interestingly, Canada’s definition of terrorism is currently being reviewed by Parliament because it is considered too broad.[2] Also, the UN General Assembly Resolution 49/60 characterized terrorism at the 84th plenary meeting on December 9, 1994. The document, "Measures to eliminate international terrorism," declared that,
Acts, methods and practices of terrorism constitute a grave violation of the purposes and principles of the United Nations, which may pose a threat to international peace and security, jeopardize friendly relations among States, hinder international cooperation and aim at the destruction of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the democratic bases of society;
Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in anycircumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political,philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature thatmay be invoked to justify them;[3]
This isn’t a definition, but it does provide some
guidelines. We must ask ourselves if the FMLN aimed to destroy human
rights. No, their goal was to protect
lives and human rights in El Salvador.
Did they attempt to destroy the fundamental freedoms and the democratic
bases of society? Quite the opposite –
they were fighting against a military dictatorship and for democracy. Were they attempting to provoke a state of
terror in the general public? Not at all
– the FMLN was supported by the general public that was being repressed and targeted
by the military and the death squads. The government’s death squads targeted
anyone suspected of taking action for social and economic reform. The victims
were peasants, unionists, clergy, farmers and university officials. As many as 80,000 citizens were tortured,
raped and murdered.
Jose related a story to me that made me realize just
how lucky I am to be a Canadian. When he
was in grade 3, another student at his school regularly bullied him. An older kid, Jose’s buddy Juan Valladares, protected him
through the school year. After grade
three, Jose never saw Mr. Valladares again - until grade 7 when his friend came to
Jose’s school to talk to the teachers and students about the political
situation in El Salvador and the fight to protect the
lives and human rights of Salvadorians.
Soon after, Jose arrived at school to find his friend next to a tree in
the school courtyard. His hands were
tied and he had been set on fire. The
message, from the military’s death squads, was that this could happen to people
who tried to speak out against what was going on in El Salvador. This was Jose’s first experience that helped
for form his understanding of his country’s social and political reality.
So the question is, why is José Figueroa being
deported? If the FMLN is not a terrorist organization, then why is José being
accused of being a security threat? This
is an issue not only for refugee claimants, but also all Canadians. Immigration is important to us for economic,
educational and other social reasons. It is important that we understand our
immigration laws and any possible contradictions and associated issues. As I write this blog over the next months, I
will continue to research and write about José’s legal battle, the politics of
immigration, the history of El Salvador, the FMLN and the Figueroa family’s
story of life in El Salvador and in Canada.
Your comments and questions are most welcome.
Learn more about Jose’s immigra issues: http://wearejose.wordpress.com/
Upcoming blog entries:
·
Life in sanctuary
·
A brief history of El
Salvador, the FMLN and the Civil War
·
The death squads of El Salvador
·
José’s involvement in
the
·
The Figueroa family
story – life in in El Salvador and Canada
·
The legal and political
issues related to the deportation of Jose
·
José’s legal battle – José’s
perspective
·
José’s legal battle –
the Canadian government’s perspective
·
José’s battle on behalf
of other immigrants in danger of deportation
·
Immigration law and
issues
·
Relevant topics of interest
to the readers of this blog
Thank you, Dallas Borkent, for your comment via email March 7, 2014:
ReplyDeleteI have seen some of the news stories about Jose and I think Canadian Immigration needs to exam all the details of this case more carefully. I believe they are so wrong in this instant. That also they are trying to make an example of this poor man and family. Simply to try to show Canadians they are doing there job, without examining the facts. There have been many other severe cases with real bad people that have escaped deportation, by having the monetary means of expensive lawyers. My best wishes good out to this man and his family and I ask that more people get involved to press and petition the Canadian Border Services Agency, to look into this terrible mistake. And to let this man and his family live in our Country in peace, and the prosperity, and Democracy Canada has to offer.
Dallas P. Borkent