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.
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.
This week’s weekend video is a trailer for an excellent documentary on Syrian refugees that is coming to Halifax this Monday. Unlike most weekend videos this one is not particularly Nova Scotia-ish, but it my website, and I do what I want to. I even manage to sneak in a link to Kate Evans, my favourite cartoonist/artist.
This weekend we present a 20-minute documentary on the Hadhad family, Syrian refugees who arrived with nothing in Antigonish, and now run a successful chocolate business. Support by the good people of Antigonish was heartwarming to see.
Stereotypes, ignorance and bias are very much part of the way many of Nova Scotia’s reporters tell the stories of African Nova Scotians, Mi’kmaq people and immigrants. By and large that was the consensus that emerged during a well-attended panel discussion at the University of King’s College last Friday.