One of my fave leftie Canadian magazines, THIS, has a piece this month on how the Canadian government is essentially screwing over Hungarian Roma who are trying to get refugee status–and doing it primarily so Hungary can pretend that there is no internal problem for the Roma. (Not that Hungary is the only country that the Roma could legitimately claim refugee status from…)
Those of you who have known me for a long time, or who have ever heard some of my “travelling around Europe with my backpack at 16” stories, will know why I am pro-Roma, particularly the Lowara, in almost every case. And I’m still sensitive to Hungary stories, since Trish and I spent a few weeks there just before Sarah came along.
Some of THIS‘ content is online every month, and this article is one such piece.
Why Canada closed its doors to Hungarian Roma refugees
For generations, Canada has symbolized a new beginning for immigrants. But this is no longer the case for Gypsies—or Roma, as they prefer to be known—because of the way the Immigration and Refugee Board has chosen to judge their cases.
Roma face discrimination across Europe, the most deadly of which is found in eastern Europe, where they are routinely tortured and killed. Although Roma have lived in Canada for more than a century, it was only in the 1990s, when they began identifying themselves by ethnicity rather than nationality, that they started having trouble emigrating, particularly from Hungary.
Hajnalka Hamori, 24, came to Canada in 2000, deciding to flee Hungary when skinheads threatened to harm her unborn child. “When I leave, the neighbourhood said they going to kick the baby out of me,” she says. Her battle for asylum in Canada began as soon as she stepped off the plane. “The first time when I came to the airport, they were treating us like a dog,” says Hamori, referring to her reception by immigration officers. “Those were my first few hours. My God, it was very bad.”
2 comments for “Hump Of Hate: Canadian Immigration Policies”