Close X
Thursday, September 26, 2024
ADVT 
National

'It's Wrong On All Levels': Canadians Affected By Trump's Travel Ban Speak Out

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Jan, 2017 12:13 PM
    VANCOUVER — The only reason Athba Samarai and her husband moved thousands of kilometres from their homes in Iraq, she says, was so their children could grow up happily and safely in Canada.
     
    But this week, the 35-year-old financial manager found herself struggling to explain to her young kids why U.S. President Donald Trump wants to temporarily ban people born in Iraq from crossing the border.
     
    "We lived through an era of oppression and we came all the way here to let our kids live in harmony and peace," said Samarai. "We never thought that this could happen here."
     
    Samarai, who lives in Calgary, is among scores of Canadian permanent residents from the seven countries affected by Trump's executive order who say their ability to travel to the U.S. is in limbo.
     
    Although the Canadian government has assured permanent residents they will be allowed to cross the border, Samarai and others say U.S. authorities have been less clear and they fear they will be detained.
     
    She said she had planned to fly via Seattle on Saturday to her sister's wedding, but had to rebook her flights to avoid the U.S. Her in-laws, aunt, uncle and cousins all live in the U.S. and now she and her husband can't visit them, she said.
     
    Her father-in-law has a green card and can't leave the U.S. because he fears he won't be allowed back in, she added, while her grandmother had to rebook a flight at the last minute to avoid a U.S. connection because the 82-year-old feared being interrogated.
     
    "It's wrong on all levels," she said.
     
     
    Samarai said she's happy and grateful to live in Canada, but was dismayed by hateful Facebook comments in response to her family's story, and devastated by Sunday's attack on a Quebec City mosque.
     
    "I just want to ask every single person who is born here, who is not challenged in any way about where he came from or which God he prays to. ... If this happened to you, if you were displaced because of who you are or where you were born, how would you react?"
     
    Danny Ramadan, 32, said he had been looking forward to promoting his upcoming novel, "The Clothesline Swing," in the U.S. His publisher had planned for the Syrian-born Canadian permanent resident to attend literary events south of the border.
     
    "It is important to me to be able to celebrate my achievement," he said.
     
    But he said despite the Canadian government's assurances, he won't risk crossing the border.
     
     
    Ramadan, an LGBTQ activist in Vancouver, said his boyfriend had bought him Britney Spears tickets in Las Vegas in March, but they've decided to go to Mexico instead.
     
    He said having to change his vacation plans was a "first-world problem," but he noted the irony of his situation, given that Trump said the executive order was aimed at keeping out potential terrorists.
     
    "I'm a gay guy who wants to see Britney Spears. How much less of a terrorist could I be?" he asked with a laugh.
     
    Wyle Baoween, a permanent Canadian resident in Vancouver who was born in Yemen, launched a company, HRx Technology, which aims to eliminate discrimination in hiring. He has a wife and an 18-month-old daughter, and typically travels to the U.S. two or three times a year.
     
    He said he feels "helpless" and the travel ban goes against his company's goals.
     
    "It is our belief and mission ... to treat people equally, no matter their gender or race," he said. "To find myself a target for this, it's very frustrating."
     
    The University of British Columbia has launched a task force to assist the estimated 80 faculty or staff and 350 students who are from the affected countries.
     
    Mohammad Rafatinasr, a 32-year-old Iranian mechanical engineer who earned his PhD at the University of Saskatchewan and is now on a post-graduation work permit, said he was blocked from boarding a flight in Vancouver on Saturday to a research conference in Las Vegas. 
     
    Despite applying for a U.S. visa three months ago and receiving it last week, he was told when he tried to check in that he was "inadmissable."
     
    "I was hearing the news, but I didn't expect that it would apply right away, or even to me," he said. "I've lived in Canada for five years. I went through a very strong security check. Suddenly, I'm inadmissable."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Former New Brunswick Youth Advocate, Politician, Picked As B.C.'s New Child Rep

    Former New Brunswick Youth Advocate, Politician, Picked As B.C.'s New Child Rep
    Bernard Richard, 65, was recommended Tuesday to take over the job by an all-party government committee searching to replace Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond who held the position for a decade.

    Former New Brunswick Youth Advocate, Politician, Picked As B.C.'s New Child Rep

    Judge Asked To Stop Probe Into Suspended Police Chief Over Social-Media Conduct

    Judge Asked To Stop Probe Into Suspended Police Chief Over Social-Media Conduct
    VANCOUVER — A British Columbia Supreme Court judge is being asked to stop an external investigation into inappropriate online messages that Victoria's suspended police chief sent to the wife of one of his officers.

    Judge Asked To Stop Probe Into Suspended Police Chief Over Social-Media Conduct

    Delta Police Take To The Streets During The Holiday Season

    The Delta Police continue to make road safety a priority and are taking to the streets conducting counter attack roadblocks over the next several weeks as we come into the Holiday Season.

    Delta Police Take To The Streets During The Holiday Season

    Celebrating Multiculturalism Week In British Columbia

    Celebrating Multiculturalism Week In British Columbia
      The most ethnically diverse province in Canada, B.C. welcomes nearly 40,000 new immigrants every year. The cultural diversity this creates plays a vital role in the development of a strong and vibrant social and economic future for the province. 

    Celebrating Multiculturalism Week In British Columbia

    Appeal Denied For Man Who Tortured, Maimed, Starved And Assaulted Roommate

    Appeal Denied For Man Who Tortured, Maimed, Starved And Assaulted Roommate
    CALGARY — Alberta's top court has upheld the conviction of a man who tortured and starved his roommate and business partner before dropping him off near death at a hospital.

    Appeal Denied For Man Who Tortured, Maimed, Starved And Assaulted Roommate

    'It's A Betrayal:' Former Calgary Police Officer Charged With Kidnapping

    'It's A Betrayal:' Former Calgary Police Officer Charged With Kidnapping
    CALGARY — A former police officer is facing 11 criminal code charges that include kidnapping and obstruction of justice.

    'It's A Betrayal:' Former Calgary Police Officer Charged With Kidnapping