What matters is we must dig deeper . . .

Like me I am sure you have felt mounting worry, frustration and despair as the Syrian refugee crisis has deepened over the past weeks and months. What we have long described as the most staggering refugee crisis since World War II has continued to worsen every single day. Then yesterday there was the haunting photo of toddler Aylan Kurdi’s body, washed up on a Turkish beach, followed by the news that he and his family had a Canadian connection and that an uncle had unsuccessfully tried to be resettled here. And those feelings spilled over into anguish and shame; but also outrage and determination.

The debate rages about how many Syrians have or have not been resettled to Canada, how that compares to other countries, and how it compares to what we’ve done in the past. None of that matters today or tomorrow. 

What matters is that we must dig deeper than we ever have as a nation and make a bold and meaningful commitment to do the most we possibly can to ease this wrenching crisis. Of course resettling refugees is not the entire solution. Of course the Syrian crisis is not just about refugees. Of course we need action, money and political will on every front imaginable. Of course. But it is still, at the end of the day, about ensuring that there is safety for the next Aylan Kurdi and his family; and that desperate refugee journeys do not end in the Mediterranean or in transport trucks in central Europe. That is what matters.

Amnesty International has been pressing the federal government to step up and do more – for and from all Canadians – for the past year. Today that has become urgent.  As a nation we may not be a natural leader when it comes to much of what is needed to resolve the Syrian crisis – we are not on the Security Council, we don’t have clout in Damascus, we aren’t a major military power. But we do know how to resettle refugees. We’ve done it impressively and boldly in the past. And we can and must do so again.

We have launched a new appeal to the Canadian government today:  http://www.amnesty.ca/news/coalition-letters/open-letter-to-pm-harper-on-canadas-contribution-to-refugee-crisis

We are calling on Canada to commit to government sponsorship of 10,000 Syrian refugees, immediately.  As a start. And not over the next 2, 3 or 4 years.  Now.

We are also insisting that obstacles to immediate family reunification for Syrian refugees with Canadian relatives be cleared away. Now.

And we have launched the on-line action you see below, which has attracted 20,000 signatures already in just a few hours. 

Please take a few minutes to take up this action. Talk about it with your family and friends. And share it widely. Let’s turn the agony that Canadians are feeling today into concerted pressure to do more and do better. 

#AylanKurdi

Guest Blogger:

Alex Neve

Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada
(English Canada)

Good Government/Impartial Justice

Canada’s founding principles are Peace, Order, and Good Government. These principles dictate that the administration of justice is not biased by political views, personal ambitions, or vested interests of individuals, corporations, or governments. The selection of judges then must be made through a process that includes:

• independence from political  influence,
• careful scrutiny by qualified persons,
• balanced representation of civic, prosecutorial, and criminal defense branches of law.

A lengthy article by Sean Fine in the July 28 issue of The Globe and Mail examines the way in which the Conservative Government has “passed dozens of crime laws that reduced judges’ power to decide on a sentence”, and “has engaged in an effort unprecedented since 1982 when the Charter of Rights and Freedoms took effect: to appoint judges most likely to accept that loss of discretion”.  Mr. Fine’s article notes that the Conservative government has named about 600 of the 840 judges on provincial superior courts, appeal courts, the Federal Court, and Tax court. Critics have raised questions about the neutrality and fairness in the selection of judges because of the close association of judges and politicians in appointments. Categories of nominees are no longer balanced since prosecutors and business attorneys have been favoured while criminal defense lawyers have been left aside., Mr. Fine notes in his article that Mr. Harper has been a critic of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that early in his role of Prime Minister that “he wanted to choose judges who would support his crackdown on crime.”

In this blog I have simply quoted excerpts from the complete article by Sean Fine which can be accessed on line Stephen Harper’s Courts. This well researched article is food for thought as we consider what kind of country we want Canada to be, how we vote in October and how, as responsible citizens, we respond to actions of Government or proposed laws debated in Parliament. 

Pat McKeon CSJ

United Nations GIFTBOX Project

Volunteers wearing bright canary yellow T shirts with blue lettering “Unwrap the Truth” walked the perimeter of St. James Anglican Cathedral’s green lawns in Toronto on busy St James Street.  Indeed, “unwrap the truth” about human trafficking in order to SPOT human trafficking and to STOP human trafficking.

The “GIFT BOX Project“ is a creative United Nations brain child which has been used at a variety of large sports events in a number of countries since 2012 to promote education about human trafficking.  The organization Faith Alliance was instrumental in bringing it to Toronto for the Pan Am and Para Pan Games. 

The acronym GIFT stands for Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking.  The Box has been designed to reflect the reality of a trafficked person.  Initially, one sees a much larger than usual “gift box”.  It is attractively decorated in colourful paint and artificial bows.  It invites, lures and entices one to become interested, to know more, to recognize the possible potential that exists within it. The words on the outside of the box are filled with tempting promises, “we can live happy ever after” … “earn easy money” … “support your family”.  However, stepping inside the box, one immediately feels and senses the cold, the aloneness, the emptiness of no support and unfulfilled promises. There is nothing inside except the stark, blatant truth.  Sad personal stories about human trafficking are emblazoned on its four walls.  The cold hard facts, faced by so many persons who have been lured into human trafficking with false promises, are prominently displayed.

In so many ways, this truly is a “gift box” of information to all of us as we learn to SPOT human trafficking in order to STOP and AVOID the allurement of human trafficking.  Let us just remember that human trafficking can happen in a wide range of industries including agriculture, construction, temporary foreign workers programs, domestic work, commercial sex work, hospitality and begging rings.

To SPOT human trafficking be alert and ask yourself:

• Does someone else have the person’s legal documents or ID?
• Does the person have little or no access to their earnings?
• Does the person lack self-esteem or seem anxious?
• Does the person have injuries that appear to be the result of the application of control measures or assault?

To learn more visit www.stopthetraffck.org/spot www.faithalliance.ca

Mabel St. Louis CSJ

Taking a Stand for Justice

Seetha, a rural poor and illiterate woman standing up for widows rights

Allow me to introduce Seetha Mahalakshmi: her name might not be familiar but what she represents is priceless – social justice for widows in India. Seetha is part of a network of 200 000 women in rural south-east India supported by SOPAR (www.sopar-balavikasa.org/ - a Canadian international development organization helped by many generous Canadian donors including the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada.

The misery of Seetha’s daughter and millions of other widows in India - Seetha’s daughter was treated as a bad omen the day she became a widow. Considered to be the cause of her husband’s death, villagers wished to exclude her of all religious and community gatherings. Villagers who would see her face first thing in the morning said it would bring bad luck upon them for the day. People were trying to persuade her not to wear good clothes or jewellery like other women. Many widows, like Seetha’s daughter, feel totally excluded and either commit suicide or seriously think about it. 

Derogatory beliefs, superstitions and taboos around widows persist in rural Indian communities. A change in attitude is essential in order to bring about change.  

Seetha takes the floor:

“The awareness sessions made me realize that we treat widows unfairly. When my daughter became a widow at the age of 22, I refused that she be excluded. She came to live with us and I told all my neighbours that we did not care about their superstitious beliefs and that my daughter would continue her life like other women. I encouraged her to remarry in spite of resistance from villagers in my community. Six months ago, I became a widow. I will not let people put me aside and impose their way of thinking on me. I have become a strong woman and will continue to be even though my husband has passed away and I will encourage other widows to be strong as well”.

SOPAR is bringing attitude change in the society regarding widows- SOPAR’s sister organization in India named Bala Vikasa, is acting as a leader to address the many injustices faced by Indian widows. Bala Vikasa developed its Justice for Widows Program in 2006 in order to alleviate widows’ suffering and social exclusion. The program strengthens widows’ capacities and leadership so that they regain dignity confidence and autonomy. It creates opportunity so that they can meet their own needs and those of their children. It also brings awareness to the whole society on superstitious beliefs related to widows.

70000+ women like Seetha have participated in SOPAR’s awareness sessions to stop superstitious beliefs related to widows and 10 000 are part of the Widows Program.  The actions of these women are creating ripple effects in rural Indian communities. People are starting to question traditional beliefs and to fight for justice for widows.

This year on International Widows day - June 23 – Seetha along with 1000 widows joined in a rally organized by Bala Vikasa in the main streets of Warangal (southern India) standing together for widows’ rights and for a better world.  

Guest Blogger: Janice Aubry, Program Officer

The Grace of Being Unsettled

“Reconciliation always happens when an oppressed people reclaims their humanity. Our role is to recognize the stake the rest of the world has in this process. What great good will come if we heal this moral wound that 152 years of residential school has inflicted on Canada’s aboriginal peoples.” (Bishop Mark MacDonald)

Having had the privilege of participating in the Ottawa T & R event we saw the beginnings of reconciliation unfolding. We stood as witnesses to years of “cultural genocide” coming to the surface. We shared in the hope generated at the possibility of creating a new story together as indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

At the opening of the intergenerational event sponsored by KAIROS, we listened to women and men survivors speak of some memories of years at residential schools. One of the most heart-wrenching of these stories was how so many survivors, not having received love and nurture themselves, did not know how to love their own children. In the words of one survivor, “I fed my residential school experience to my children.”

Along with about 20 other sisters and priests, we walked in solidarity the 5 kilometers through the streets of Ottawa from Gatineau to City Hall carrying the CRC banner. We were constantly reminded that the Truth and Reconciliation process is not about a “native issue. It is a Canadian issue.” When we arrived at Marian Dewar plaza, we experienced a very poignant moment. Justice Murray Sinclair, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, asked the survivors to raise their hands. He then invited the entire assembly to acknowledge the survivors and to thank them. There were tears shared between the survivors and the rest of us.

On Tuesday, June 2^nd, the Truth and Reconciliation report was released at Ottawa’s Delta Hotel. The huge ballroom was filled as were two overflow rooms. As each commissioner spoke in turn, we had the impression that we were present at an historic moment. Something was shifting in our understanding of who we are as Canadians.

Now comes the hard work of embracing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation report. As we were reminded, truth and reconciliation has to be more than words. Recognizing land rights; teaching the story of residential schools in our education system and reclaiming Aboriginal languages are just three of the recommendations.

We wonder what the Truth and Reconciliation experience holds for us as Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada as we journey toward Chapter 2016.

Jean Moylan CSJ and Margo Ritchie CSJ

Photo: L to R Sr. Jean Moylan, Sr. Priscilla Solomon, Sr. Margo Ritchie