A protest against a brutal regime

The Imprisoned Blogger – People gathered on the streets protesting discrimination by a regime that has violated every human right you could conjure in your mind. They held signs to stop government actions towards some of those who were in the protesting crowd. These actions would send people to prisons, where many before had died of medical negligence and many more died under torture or suspicious circumstance. Before reading any further, stop and ask yourself where you think this protest happened. Your first thought might be, surely not Canada, but in actuality this is exactly where it was: Vancouver, British Columbia. The regime being protested against is the Canadian government.

Members of the Egyptian Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) cannot protest this safely in Egypt. The FJP was democratically elected in 2012 when Mohamed Morsi became president, then was deposed in a coup d’état by the military in 2013. In response to the 2013 military coup, thousands of Egyptian nationals applied for refugee status in nations all over the world. Many have been successfully accepted in countries like the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and Canada, to name a few. Political activists, opposition figures, journalists, and human rights defenders are among those who have applied for refuge in Canada. These democratic countries saw the refuge seekers’ affiliation and membership with the FJP as grounds for their successful refugee claims. Which brings us back to this protest in BC: amongst the people marching are victims of Islamophobia within the folds of the Canadian immigration system.

These targeted refugees came to Canada seeking protection on the basis that the Egyptian regime is persecuting them for their involvement in the only democratically elected government in Egypt’s history. However, they were met by Canada Border Services Agency officers who worked closely with Egyptian authorities and relied on a study commissioned by the present Egyptian regime as evidence against their claims. This study has been utilized by Egyptian authorities to target Egyptian refugees in an attempt to prevent them from submitting claims for asylum elsewhere.

CBSA used the study to supply evidence which characterized the 2013 military coup as a revolution, which is erroneous information framed by the current Egyptian regime. Even worse, this evidence justified the killing and massacre of over a thousand Egyptians in Rabaa Square in Cairo by the Egyptian military. The fact that CBSA submitted material commissioned by a state that has persecuted the refugees in question demonstrates a violation of the code of conduct on behalf of the CBSA officers involved.

Other evidence was sourced from unauthored blogs or individuals who are known to be extremely Islamophobic, unreliable, unsubstantiated, and heavily criticized. For example, CBSA submitted a report by a well-known Canadian Islamophobe, Tom Quiggin, called, The Muslim Brotherhood in North America (Canada/USA). According to a 2014 article in Maclean’s magazine, Muslim Brotherhood: the new Islamist bogeyman in Canada, by Adnan R. Khan, “Quiggin’s report reads more like a doomsday manifesto, predicting the end of Western civilization at the hands of Muslims” and portrays Canada’s Muslim community as “a secretive cabal plotting the downfall of Western civilization from within.” CBSA has exploited elements of this research to target genuine Canadian Muslim organizations and accuse them of terrorism. This is a clear example of Islamophobia within the folds of the agency, contrary to everything that is Canadian, let alone being tantamount to committing crimes against humanity. CBSA has displayed an obvious conflict of interest in its role as a federal law enforcement agency which must deliver truthful and objective evidence.

The position of CBSA, in this case, is a stand-alone position and contrary to Canada’s own; the Trudeau government went to extreme lengths to welcome others who are in the same shoes as those protesting here. So, if Canada is welcoming members of the FJP, then how could CBSA take this position? This is the question that many activists, lawyers, friends, and family members of these people have asked themselves. It was also discovered that at least one officer within CBSA had demonstrated a disturbing ideological belief publicly.

Carrie, a Canadian citizen, friend, advocate, and support person for one of the protesting Egyptian refugees found the offending officer’s digression. When she was told of the problems her friend was having with the officer, she did what many would do in this day and age and looked him up on social media. Not expecting to find anything—because she honestly thought officers of the law weren’t allowed to have public accounts—she found him quite easily and was taken aback by the profile photo being used: a black and white US flag with a thin blue line across it. Even without much knowledge of the insignia’s history, she knew from media over the last couple years that this symbol was being used with negative connotation surrounding racism. She did more research and reading and concluded that this officer was clearly displaying a message, and not the right one, especially for the position he is in. The initial discovery made her feel physically unwell and sad as a Canadian by the disrespect it showed. She continues to wonder how the Canadian government is not worried about such actions coming from within CBSA, an agency on the front line of the country and the first to greet any immigrant or refugee.

These people protesting on the Westcoast of Canada have tried the legal channels only to experience the kangaroo court that is the immigration tribunal. They even filed complaints, contacted politicians, held seminars, and talked to human-rights organizations. And yet, they are still slated for removal to torture and possible death with full participation by Canada. So much for human rights and democracy. They came to a supposed welcoming land only to be blocked by the same colonial ideals that stole the land from its original inhabitants in the first place.