Tamil Immigrants
Back in October, the decision was made almost instantly.
Minutes after a rusty cargo ship named Ocean Lady docked at Victoria, B.C., dozens of border services agents streamed into the vessel and escorted the 76 illegal Sri Lankan migrants off it.
Immediately deemed a potential security threat, they were taken to detention centres in Vancouver.
Now, less than a year later, all 76 migrants have been released and have since applied for asylum.
Most of them are living in Toronto. “I really believed that when the war ended, there would be peace,” said a Tamil farmer from near Jaffna, a city on the northern tip of Sri Lanka. “But Tamils are still being persecuted. If I hadn’t left, I would have been killed.”
The 34-year-old, who didn’t want his name to be used, said he’s a Tamil, not a terrorist.But differentiating between refugees and Tamil Tigers has always been a thorny issue.
The Tigers are the military arm of the Tamil separatist movement, which fought a bloody 26-year civil war with the Sri Lankan government forces before being defeated in May 2009. The organization is considered a terrorist group by many countries, including Canada.
Over the past three decades, thousands of refugees have come to Canada where most live peacefully. Some have joined the Tigers and have worked for the movement.
When the Ocean Lady landed, there were fears some migrants were Tigers. But community leaders point out that the 76 men have been investigated and “it’s been proved they have no ties to terrorists,” said Periathamby Casinadhen, who volunteers with the Canadian Tamil Congress.
Three men, who were on board the Ocean Lady and are now living in the Toronto area, spoke to the Star about why and how they fled the tiny island country.
They didn’t want their names to be published for fear of retaliation against their families, who are still in Sri Lanka. “When my family is here safe, you can take my photograph too,” said one man, who is in his 30s. He is from the eastern province in Sri Lanka and his work constantly brought him in conflict with the government. “Sometimes when I left the house for work, I didn’t think I would ever return.” (The Star can’t mention his profession or where he lived in because it would easily identify him and put his family’s safety in jeopardy.)
He was wearing a grey check shirt, dark blue jeans and was sitting at the Scarborough offices of the Canadian Tamil Congress. He always carries a pink plastic photo album — it has about two dozen photos of his wife and young daughter.
“I don’t know when I’ll see then again but at least they don’t have to worry about me getting killed.”
The three men the Star spoke to recounted atrocities against the Tamils by government forces.
“I’m not surprised,” said Todd Ross, who is with the Canadian Human Rights Voice, a non-profit group trying to raise awareness of human rights concerns in Sri Lanka. “Things have gotten out of hand in that country.”
He pointed out that the Canadian government has said it would like to reunite families. “But the problem is our visa officers have no access to north Sri Lanka, where most Tamils live,” he said. “So people are doing whatever they can to escape.”
It’s not easy though. A 33-year-old farmer, who was thrown into a camp after the rebels were defeated, says thousands of Tamils live within the confines of barbed wire and are watched over by armed soldiers.
A few days after he arrived at the camp, he says he was photographed — a sign of danger. “Some men had been photographed and taken away. . . no one saw them again.”
That night, he claims he paid a soldier to get fake travel IDs; the same soldier helped him escape. In three days, the farmer was in Colombo and then flew to Malaysia.
Then he was introduced to a “travel agent” who told him that he could get him “thousands of kilometres” away from Sri Lanka if he paid $45,000 (Cdn.). The farmer says he did and one night he and a dozen other men were packed into a dingy trawler and taken to a ship.
It was the Ocean Lady. All the Tamil migrants live with Toronto families, who have posted their bonds. They report to the Immigration and Refugee Board officials every week.
Some of them have got work permits but most are on welfare. “They don’t want to be a burden on Canadians. . . they are learning English and as they get their work permits, we are helping them find work,” said David Poopalapillai of the Canadian Tamil Congress. “That’s sounds fair to me.”
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