Coalition Organizes to Oppose Deportation of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal

Interview with Rabie Masri, of Montreal's Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, conducted by Stefan Christoff

As the global Palestinian Diaspora mourns the loss of independence activist professor Edward Said, the crisis of more than 4.5 million Palestinian refugees throughout the world who have been denied the right of return to Palestine by the Israeli government has come into focus in Montreal, Canada. There, over 100 Palestinian refugees are now facing deportation. Many Palestinian immigrants come to Canada from refugee camps in Lebanon and the occupied territories, but since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., their claim of refugee status in Canada has been systematically rejected by Immigration Canada.

Palestinian refugees are the children and grandchildren of some of the 750,000 indigenous families expelled from Palestine in 1948 when the nation-state of Israel was created 55 years ago.

Palestinian immigrants in Montreal facing deportation have organized the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees to fight Canada's attempt to deport them to camps in Lebanon and the occupied territories that are plagued by poverty and violence. The public campaign to stop the deportation of Palestinian refugees in Montreal has consisted of marches, popular education and direct action. The campaign is centered around two demands directed towards Citizenship and Immigration Canada: a halt to the deportations and granting of legal status to the refugees. Stefan Christoff, of CKUT Radio in Montreal spoke with Rabie Masri of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees.

For more information on the Campaign to Stop the Deportation of Palestinian immigrants in Montreal, contact the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees at (514) 591-3171 or by sending an email to: refugees@riseup.net.

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