El Jones provides this quick update on Abdoul Abdi, the refugee who is at high risk of deportation to Somalia or Saudi Arabia, even though he has lived in Canada since he arrived here as a young boy. The speed at which they are moving suggests they are prioritizing deportation over all other issues, and despite the severe human rights issues in this case, they are pushing forward.
Ralph Goodale, the federal minister of Public Safety, continues his efforts to deport Abdoulkader Abdi to either Saudi Arabia or Somalia, his lawyer reported yesterday. He has no family connections in either country, does not speak the language, and does not know the local culture. Deportation would separate Abdoul from his entire family who are all in Canada, including his Canadian-born daughter. None of this would have happened if Nova Scotia’s Department of Community Services had applied for Canadian citizenship on his behalf while Abdoul was a ward of the state.
An editorial about the huge issue of unwarranted plea bargains and convictions of innocent people, written by somebody currently incarcerated somewhere in Atlantic Canada.
Abdoul Abdi is a Somali refugee who fell through the cracks and faces immanent deportation to either Somalia or Saudi Arabia. He has ties with neither country. You can help.
Public Service Announcement. A very worthy cause.
It’s needlessly difficult to make a call from the Nova Institution for Women in Truro, says Martha Paynter of Women’s Wellness Within. Phone charges should be dropped, and internet access should be provided. Current restrictions just add to the prisoners’ sense of isolation and emotional duress. Turns out the phone provider is Bell Canada, of #BellLetsTalk fame.
A problematic story in the Chronicle Herald about a staffer’s transphobic comments causes reporter Rebecca Rose to take an in depth look at the harm they cause and and how to counteract them. She also looks at the significant policy changes that triggered the comments, and how these changes came about. But no matter how good the policy changes and staff training, decarceration and community inclusion remain the best solution, advocates say.
The CBC visited the prison in Springhill, NS and checked its journalistic instincts at the gate.
This weekend we feature a short 2014 talk by artist and scholar Ardath Whynacht, on the trauma that very early on puts so many on a trajectory to crime and prison, and why building ever more prisons and escalating punishment is not the answer.
An interview with Senator Kim Pate’s about the predicament of the young Nova Scotia man kept in solitary confinement for a year and the reluctance of staff at the Waterville Youth Facility to have him returned.