Impact of Hate Crimes Speech

Impact of Hate Crimes

Tombstones are knocked over and broken in cemeteries in Toronto and Kitchener. A Mosque in Pickering is the target of an arson attack. A Hebrew school in Montreal is firebombed, causing extensive damage to the library. Campaign signs belonging to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto are defaced – with the words “Jew Nazi” written across the faces of old men and young children. The windows of a synagogue are smashed. A Sikh caretaker is murdered for no reason other than his faith. A gay man is beaten because he is gay.

All of these acts are hate crimes. As such they are roundly condemned by the overwhelming majority of citizens. But why?

There are a number of reasons. Hate crimes offend our sense of moral fair play. The notion that an individual can be singled out for violent or differential treatment because of religion or skin colour or sexual orientation is repulsive to us. We instinctively rebel against such behaviours, recognizing them to be remnants of an unevolved past.

We also recognize, I think, that hate crimes have a corrosive effect on the strands that hold together our society. A society that permits the victimization of a minority group by the majority ultimately condemns itself to a slow inward collapse as its very soul disintegrates.

But all of this is at a very high level. What is the impact of hate crimes on those who are victimized by them?

To answer that question it is first necessary to identify who are the victims. As my point of departure I ask you to consider an incident that took place in Toronto in March 2004. Sometime during the evening of March 14, 2004 13 homes in a quiet neighbourhood were made the target of vandalism. Automobiles and homes were damaged. In at least two cases swastikas were drawn. In one of these latter cases, the home of Ichiel Leib and his mother, Maria, was vandalized with a swastika and the words, “Jewz Suk”. Mrs. Leib is a Holocaust survivor. In this particular case there were three specific sets of victims: The Leib family; Holocaust survivors; the Jewish community.

To the Leib family the incident was a nightmare. They had lived a pleasant life in their home in Thornhill, in a community that has a significant Jewish population. All of that was now turned upside down. Were they safe? Who could have done such a thing? What did this incident say about the nature of safety and security in Canada?

For Holocaust survivors (and Toronto has one of the largest populations of survivors in the world), the effect of the swastika was electric. It re-opened painful memories of the past and prompted some within that community to ask if “it was starting all over again”. They saw in this incident, and others like it, a foreboding shadow of the rise of intolerance and the collapse of individual human rights.

For the larger community, the incident was seen, variously, as confirmation that anti-Semitism was alive and well in Canada or as “one damn thing after another” Both responses pose challenges to us. In the first case, the sentiment that underlies the statement is that hate is an intractable human emotion and that we will never be rid of it – and that we are forever doomed to be victims of it. The second case is more troubling. In a month where homes were vandalized, gravestones were overturned, synagogues and schools were vandalized and signs belonging to the community were marred with swastikas and “SS” lightning bolts, there was a response from the community that was almost fatalistic in its content. It was as if a portion of the community shrugged its shoulders and said, in effect, “so what else is new?”

I suggest that each of these responses tells us something important about the way that hate crimes affect their victims – and why each of us should be concerned by those responses.
Hate crimes teach their victims that the world is not a safe place, that there is danger lurking and brings home the unfortunate truth that “bad things happen to good people”. The trauma experienced can have long lasting effects. This is especially true in the case of children who are directly or indirectly targeted by the attacks. This comes through very clearly when one listens to interviews of students who attended the United Talmud Torah School in Montreal, which was firebombed in April 2004. More than one student commented on how hard it was to see the destruction of a place where they had worked and had fun for years. This is a key element in tallying the repercussion of hates crimes: the loss of a sense of safety – of belonging.

Then there are those who observe the incidents of hate crime through the prism of history. They recall that the road that lead to the most horrific excesses of the Holocaust began with evil words and then escalated to evil deeds. In such cases, the conclusion can be drawn that our society is too fragile to ensure the rights of all of its citizens. The result is a lessening of confidence in the systems of society that ought to function for the benefit of all.

Then there those whose only association with a particular incident is their membership in the targeted community. What impact does this have on them? In response to a recent act of vandalism that occurred in the City of Vaughan (a suburb of Toronto), CJC’s National Director of Community Relations observed that “It’s like a constant drip, drip drip. It’s corrosive to our community. No community should have to put up with this kind of garbage”. It is this image of a slow acid burn that draws my attention. That these incidents occur on a regular basis; each of them cuts, but no cut is so deep as to be fatal. Despite that, the accumulation is debilitating and wears away at the confidence that all citizens should have in their safety and their place within a civil society.

CJC News Release: Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region denounces Hindu Temple desecration

August 8 2005 - Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region denounces Hindu Temple desecration

Vancouver - Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, denounced the recent desecration of the Geeta Gyan Society temple in Surrey, and has offered its support and condolences to the congregation.

The temple was defaced with graffiti that included racial aspersions, swastikas, and threats.

"No Canadian should face the spectacle of their place of worship being targeted by intolerance," said Mark Weintraub, Chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. "We share with the Hindu community their pain, outrage and disappointment at this attack on our society's cohesion," he added.

Weintraub noted that CJCPR hopes the Surrey police are able to find the perpetrators in order to bring them to justice.

"Canadian Jewish Congress has been a constant voice for education and enforcement against racial, religious and other forms of intolerance against all groups in our society. We hope that the perpetrators, once found, will face appropriate charges," Weintraub added.

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For more information contact:
Romy Ritter
Community Relations Coordinator
Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region
604-257-5101 (office)
romyr@cjc.ca
www.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=729

MetroValley Newspaper: Community remembers founder of SUCCESS

Jul 06, 2005 - MetroValley Newspaper Group
By: Kate Trotter

Tributes are pouring in following the death of Lilian To, who helped develop an immigrant services agency into a social powerhouse that assisted tens of thousands of new Canadians.

Lilian To was chief executive officer of SUCCESS when she died July 2, following a heart attack the previous day.

She immigrated in the early 1970's with a degree from the University of Hong Kong, and obtained her Masters of Social Work at UBC. She was one of the founders of SUCCESS. Under her leadership, the charity that started in 1973 grew to 11 centres, a small staff and thousands of volunteers that provided services to immigrants - from their arrival at airports to learning English, getting jobs, understanding Canadian culture and settling into seniors' care homes. Lilian To was one of the founders of SUCCESS and its chief operating officer for 17 years.

She had a gift of leadership," said T.N. Foo, who is acting CEO until the board of directors appoints a successor. She really had a vision." Her vision, he said, inspired not only new Canadians, but the broader community who recognized her, and her commitment, to human rights and multiculturalism.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper offered his condolences, as did B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, Opposition Leader Carole James and To's peers in social service agencies.

She was a leader in immigrant settlement services and is personally responsible for the richness that so many newcomers have contributed to our society," said Mark Weintraub, Chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. Lilian built SUCCESS into an agency that not only provides a range of services for immigrants to find homes and jobs, but one that promotes multiculturalism more generally, that protects human rights, encourages an active and dedicated citizenry and combats prejudice in any form it might take. Her foresight, depth of knowledge and inherent sensitivity will be deeply missed."

David Oborne, assistant superintendent for School District 43 collaborated with Lilian To, and said her contribution was enormous and should be recognized by the entire community, not just those who directly benefitted from the many programs. She has been a stalwart supporter of new immigrant children," he said.

She received numerous awards and accolades during her career, but was not one to stay in the office. In Tri-City, she was often present at events including all-candidate's forums with simultaneous translations and graduation ceremonies for entrepreneurial programs - - and always advocating for new Canadians, as well as inspiring them.

She was not a very high profile person," Foo said. She spoke out when it was needed, but not for the sake of her own reputation. Whenever there was policy related to the community, she would speak out not only in the Chinese community but to the mainstream."

A private family service was planned for July 8 but Foo said civic leaders have asked to attend it, rather than waiting for a planned life celebration in September, so it is expected to be standing-room only. Memorial opportunities will be at the Pender Street office until the end of the week and at success.bc.ca.

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=itn&Story=1387

CJC News Release: CJCPR Mourns Lilian To

July 3, 2005 - CJCPR Mourns Lilian To

For immediate release

Vancouver - Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region will convey its sympathy and shock to the Board of United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society (S.U.C.C.E.S.S.) over the untimely loss of Lilian To, a woman who shaped Canadian society and was a major architect of Vancouver's multicultural success.

To, who was Executive Director of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., was a staunch supporter of the Jewish community in British Columbia and Canada, and an ally and friend to the officers and staff of Canadian Jewish Congress.

"Lilian was a colleague and a friend to me and I benefited along with thousands of other British Columbians from her lifetime of contributions to multiculturalism and support for new Canadians," said Erwin Nest, Executive Director of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. "I could always count on her wise counsel, her solid opinions and generous friendship. Lilian was well-informed, thoughtful and articulate but, beyond that, she was genuinely committed to a tolerant, peaceful and just society."

Canadian Jewish Congress and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. have worked together on countless projects of mutual concern for decades, most notably on programs and task forces within the non-profit sector. Lilian To was a leader in developing social services that met the needs of seniors, women, youth and families, whether they required counselling, employment, language training or other services to help them become successful and contributing Canadians. Her work in community development, settlement and public education will leave a positive and lasting mark on British Columbia's and Canada's multicultural fabric. An immigrant herself, To epitomized the contribution a single individual could make to one's chosen home.

"She was a leader in immigrant settlement services and is personally responsible for the richness that so many newcomers have contributed to our society," said Mark Weintraub, Chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. "Lilian built S.U.C.C.E.S.S. into an agency that not only provides a range of services for immigrants to find homes and jobs, but one that promotes multiculturalism more generally, that protects human rights, encourages an active and dedicated citizenry and combats prejudice in any form it might take. Her foresight, depth of knowledge and inherent sensitivity will be deeply missed."

To experienced a heart attack on Canada Day and passed away Saturday.

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Contact:
Erwin Nest
Executive Director
Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region
604-257-5101 (office)
erwinn@cjc.ca
www.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=719

CJC News Release: CJC congratulates New Cabinet assurances sought on key concerns.

June 17, 2005 - CJC congratulates New Cabinet assurances sought on key concerns.

Vancouver - Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region (CJCPR), has conveyed its congratulations to members of the new British Columbia executive council who were sworn in yesterday.

“We look forward to continuing our working relationship with the returning faces and developing new, constructive areas of common interest with the newcomers,” said Mark Weintraub, chair of CJCPR.

Weintraub stated the officers of CJCPR look forward to meeting with members of cabinet, especially those whose responsibilities impact directly on the mandate of CJCPR.

“We are pleased that the responsibility for multiculturalism has been reunited under the Attorney-General,” Weintraub said. “and we are encouraged by the comments of Attorney General Wally Oppal that he will prioritize anti-racism initiatives. We are also looking forward to seeing concrete steps in dealing with increasing concerns regarding affordable housing for our most vulnerable.”

“I would hope that we could meet at the earliest convenience with Attorney-General Oppal and with Solicitor-General John Les,” Weintraub stated. “There is a range of pressing social and justice issues which if addressed can only make our Province a place for increasing pride in what we can accomplish as British Columbians working together.”

During the election campaign, CJCPR communicated with officials and candidates of the all parties on a variety of issues. In conjunction with other organizations, including S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and the Vancouver Multicultural Society, CJCPR received from the B.C. Liberal party commitments to some common objectives.

“We are heartened by the appointment of a stand-alone Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation,” Weintraub added. “Supporting justice for aboriginal peoples is a priority issue for our community and we will support Tom Christensen in any manner we can as he seeks just solutions to outstanding claims.”

Other concerns raised by CJCPR during the election period include: the province’s responsibility to compile data and publish reports on hate crimes; to encourage Crown counsels to employ hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code where evidence warrants; to continually review the effectiveness of human rights apparatus; to strengthen and promote multiculturalism; to create an integrated, comprehensive program to address challenges posed by mental illness, homelessness and addictions; and to support key initiatives in relation to First Nations issues.

CJCPR has also conveyed congratulations to the New Democratic party’s leader and caucus, who were sworn in as Members of the Legislative Assembly Wednesday.

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Contact:

Erwin Nest

Executive Director

Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region

604-257-5101 (office)

erwinn@cjc.ca

www.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=715

CJC News Release: Jewish Community sends support to victim

June 1, 2005 - Jewish Community sends support to victim

For immediate release

Vancouver - Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region is expressing shock and offering support and solidarity to the victim of a vicious attack in Richmond last week.

A young man, whose identity has not been made public, was attacked on the grounds of a Richmond school Thursday. RCMP report that the teenager was subjected to racial slurs, that his turban was torn from his person and his hair was cut with a blade, in contravention of his Sikh religious tradition.

“On behalf of the Jewish community of British Columbia and Canada, I have conveyed, through the RCMP, my deep and heartfelt support and solidarity with the young man, his family and his community,” said Mark Weintraub, chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. “We have conveyed to our friends in the Sikh community our revulsion at the assault, with its added injury to the religious dignity of the individual victim and his entire community.”

Police are not stating explicitly whether the incident is to be treated as a hate crime.

Weintraub said investigative and judicial processes will unfold in days to come, but took the opportunity to restate that his community stands with the victim, his family and community.

“We join with Sikh Canadians in bearing the painful burden of this attack, which has implications for the targeted individual, as well as broader implications for Canadian society,” said Weintraub. “The wishes and empathy of our community are with the young man and his family. The resources of our communal structure are at the disposal of police and the Sikh community if there is any contribution we can make to alleviate the suffering or to facilitate justice.”

Canadian Jewish Congress has been a strong proponent of government support to combat hate- and bias-motivated incidents. Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, contends that crimes perpetrated against members of cultural communities have impacts beyond the victim themselves and deleteriously affect the cohesion and safety of society as a whole.

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Contact:
Erwin Nest
Executive Director
Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region
604-257-5101 (office)
erwinn@cjc.ca
www.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=713

Canadian Jewish News: Canada’s Role in Darfur Not Seen as Election Issue with Parties

By Paul Lungen

It’s still fairly early in the federal election campaign, but one issue that seems to have completely slipped under the radar of the mainstream political parties and the media is the calamitous situation in Darfur.

As many as 10,000 Sudanese refugees continue to be killed each and every month by roving bands of janjaweed, militias supported by the government in Khartoum, said Dr. Norman Epstein, founder of C.A.S.T.S. (Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan).

While Canada has advanced the “responsibility to protect” doctrine, which gives countries the right to intervene in the internal affairs of other nations to prevent atrocities, political parties and voters have turned a blind eye to the ongoing mayhem in Darfur, he said.

Epstein said C.A.S.T.S. is hoping to make the situation in Darfur – which he has characterized as an “African Auschwitz” – into a campaign issue. The group is putting together a “primer” on events in Africa so that voters, armed with the information, can “raise it in town halls.”

Mark Weintraub, Canadian Jewish Congress’ spokesman on Darfur, is likewise disappointed in Canada’s tepid response to the ongoing genocide.

It now appears too much stock was placed on peace talks that have made little progress, with the result that the janjaweed continue to rampage and refugees continue to suffer, he said.

“We see that the sense of satisfaction that there would be an end to the killing has turned to disappointment,” Weintraub said in a telephone interview from Vancouver.

Canada’s political parties are ignoring Darfur. “It is not an election issue,” he said. “It must be an election issue and we will do our best to make it an election issue.”

To mid-December, the campaign has focused primarily on domestic concerns, including child care, health issues, crime and corruption – with some America-bashing thrown in. Little has been said on Canada’s deployment of troops to Afghanistan, let alone on foreign policy on Darfur.

Epstein said some progress on the Darfur file was made early in the year. Canada raised the issue in international fora, it sent a handful of support troops to the region as well as armoured personnel carriers (they languish in Senegal as the Sudanese government refuses to allow them to enter) and it pledged $380 million (since 2000) for Darfur refugees and the African Union (AU) military force. It also appointed an advisory team that includes Sen. Roméo Dallaire, former head of UN forces in Rwanda, and the prime minister has named a Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan, Sen. Mobina Jaffer.

But it can do much more. “It should walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” he said.

Canada remains in a good position to exercise its unique leverage to move things ahead, Epstein continued. Canada has good diplomatic relations with the United States, the European Union and with African nations.

A multinational force must be put in place to protect aid convoys and NGO workers.

Ottawa, he said, seems to be “putting all its eggs in the AU basket.” However, the AU force does not have the mandate to actually prevent the janjaweed from slaughtering innocent Africans (they are there as ceasefire observers), nor does it have sufficient military strength or logistical support to intervene, he said.

“Things have really stalled and the situation is even unravelling more. There is more insecurity in Darfur,” he said. Civilians continue to be murdered and even those who have fled to refugee camps are in danger.

Meanwhile, the international community’s policies continue to employ “bizarre logic.” At the same time that many members of the Khartoum regime face indictment by the International Criminal Court, “the international community continues to negotiate with those genocidaires for permission to go in and protect civilians and provide aid. The Khartoum regime is obstructing that,” Epstein said.

Weintraub said Congress will re-evaluate its advocacy program in coming weeks after it is briefed by contacts returning from Darfur. In the meantime it is attempting to co-ordinate its advocacy efforts with the American Jewish World Service, a humanitarian NGO.

* * *

Websites of the three major parties make only passing reference to Darfur.
The prime minister’s website states, “protecting civilians in armed conflict and ensuring that the international community is equipped to deliver effectively on its responsibility to protect are top priorities of Canada’s foreign policy.”

The Conservative website quotes foreign affairs critic Stockwell Day saying “Canada must do everything possible to encourage a UN coalition of nations, who are willing to show a presence in Darfur, to deter the atrocities of murder, rape and forced evacuation.”

During question period prior to parliament’s dissolution, Day said, “If the UN is determined to follow the same pattern that led to the Rwandan Genocide, then Canada must urge other nations to join in a multilateral mission to protect the people of Darfur.”

A news release on the NDP website quotes foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough saying, “Canada must urge the UN to take stronger and more tangible action on Darfur. Safety of UN personnel must be of paramount concern but it’s imperative that the developments that have led to their removal (after aid workers were attacked) spur the international community into providing a more effective response to the crisis that continues in Sudan.”

http://www.shalomdc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=169124

Vancouver Courier: Stop genocide makes reader proud

Letters to the editor

Stop genocide makes reader proud

To the editor:
It makes one proud to be a Canadian to read the May 22 Courier cover ("Stop genocide") by Jessica Werb in which she describes the attempts by Jews, Muslims and Canadians to stop the slaughter in Darfur.

We must honour those in Canada who bring comfort and succour to those suffering injustice at home or abroad.

It is only Canada, as Ms. Werb points out, that is sending troops to help end the genocide in Sudan.

I would like to point out however two corrections that should be made. First, not only is the U.S. government not continuing to protest ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region, but its agents, including the CIA, actively work with the Sudanese government which is responsible for the ongoing atrocities. For further information you may go to your website search engine and check out "CIA and Darfur."

And then, a minor point, but many people don't know their own history not to mention that of other cultures. Arabs (and other Muslims) and Jews (all, for the most part, belonging to the Semitic "race") have not always had the turbulent and troubled and violent relations we see today, as mentioned by Ms. Werb.

For many centuries in the past Jews found sanctuary in Muslim countries when confronted with the anti-Semitism rampant in Europe. But this is a minor point.

JAY PAULSON,
VANCOUVER

Vancouver Courier: Stop the genocide

A journalist in Rwanda before he fled the country, Robert Sebufirira works as a security guard. Photo-Dan Toulgoet

Stop the genocide

By Jessica Werb-contributing writer

Robbie Waisman's eyes become clouded with the memories of horrors he has been unable to erase from his mind. Images of Buchenwald, the concentration camp in which he spent his early teenage years, come flooding back.

"There were writers, poets, intellectuals [in the camp]," the 74-year-old Polish-born Holocaust survivor remembers, quietly relating his story in a busy coffee shop on Oak street, far removed from the chaos and despair of his youth. "These people were philosophizing, saying, anyone who is lucky enough to survive will live in paradise. Wars will be eliminated, nations will not raise any weapons against another nation again.

Once the world had realized what had occurred, such inhumanity could not possibly occur again, was the thinking. But today, Waisman-a former accountant and hotelier-is all too aware the utopia that was to have emerged out of the terrors of the Second World War is nowhere near to becoming a reality. He lost four brothers and both parents during Hitler's reign, and immigrated to Canada at the age of 17, three years after his liberation. He's haunted not only by the memories of those he watched perish in the camp, but also the knowledge that others around the world are now suffering their own extermination.

"They said nothing like this is ever going to happen again. There will be no genocides, there will be no evil. And then, what happens? Again." He sighs.

"So, here we are in a world where we have a Kosovo, where we have a Rwanda, where we have a Darfur, and genocides are occurring all over. And we have to do something about it."

And he is. Waisman has for the past 20 years been telling his story to the public as part of his work with the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, which he helped found in 1983. Lately, he's been urging his audiences to take action on the current situation in Darfur, a region of Sudan where government-backed Arab Janjaweed militias have, since 2003, slaughtered approximately 300,000 inhabitants of African descent, and driven an estimated 2.6 million from their homes into refugee camps.

On May 24, Waisman will be addressing the issue head-on, as part of an event at the Jewish Community Centre, to raise money and educate people about the situation in Sudan. It's a remarkable effort. Organized by a group of young Jewish women, it's brought together Jews, Muslims and survivors of some of the worst modern genocides. The title of the event: Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan.

Speaking alongside Waisman will be Robert Sebufirira a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda, and Nouri Abdalla, secretary general of the Darfur Association of Canada, B.C. Chapter. Senator Mobina Jaffer, Canada's special envoy to the peace process in Sudan, will also speak.

The event was conceived by Tami Michaelson and Sarah Robin, both 27, who found themselves profoundly affected by reports of the atrocities in Sudan. While a February 2005 United Nations report stopped short of calling the situation "genocide," much of the rest of the world, including the U.S., has insisted that a policy of ethnic cleansing is taking place.

"Growing up, we were always told 'never again'," says Robin, who says watching the film Hotel Rwanda was a turning point for her. "We're told that we have to keep learning about the Holocaust, because we can never let it happen again, to anyone. It shouldn't be happening, and yet it happens... Jewish people should take an active role. Any community that's been affected by genocide almost has a duty to do something.

Michaelson adds: "It's our responsibility as Canadians, as Jewish people, to help one another out there in the world. It's so easy to sit at home and do nothing, but that's how these things happen-because people do nothing."

Mark Weintraub, chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, and chair of the organization's National Darfur Committee, says the Darfur crisis has mobilized the Jewish community to an astonishing extent.

"The Jewish community in Vancouver, for reasons that I still have not yet completely figured out, has taken to heart the issue of Darfur in a very significant way," he says in the downtown office where he works as a lawyer. "Our community took such initiatives as ensuring that every synagogue on our holiest day of atonement was addressed on the issue of Darfur... So on our holiest days, thousands and thousands of Jews were made aware of the human rights violations facing Sudan, and whose motivation seemed to be ethnically motivated."

Robert Sebufirira, 25, has experienced first-hand the trauma of ethnic cleansing. Scheduled to speak at the event alongside Waisman, he's a survivor of the infamous genocide in Rwanda. In 1994, between April and June an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days, in a clash between the Hutu and Tutsi tribal groups. Most of the dead were Tutsis, attacked by Hutus who, says Sebufirira, had lived peacefully with Tutsis like himself for decades. At the age of 14, he witnessed atrocities that, 11 years on, he has difficulty discussing. Recounting his own escape, his speech becomes muddled, and his hands gesticulate wildly.

"I did escape. How? I don't know," he says, in the midst of a noisy caf‚. "Seeing dead bodies on top of me, I don't think that's escaping... They killed most of the people, and you go into shock, and at the end of the day you are lying under how many dead bodies, and you are soaked in blood... I don't think there's anything that I did consciously that I can think of."

He tells stories of Hutu men who, after 30 years of marriage, turned on their Tutsi wives, slaughtering them and the children they had together.

"How can you explain that?" he asks. "What's the cause of that? I don't have an explanation."

He says that most of his immediate family survived, but that his mother, grandparents, aunts and uncles did not.

"One person that did survive is my aunt, but she died in 2000 of AIDS because she was raped during the genocide," he says.

Asked about his mother, he insists he cannot discuss her. "I know how she died, and that's it. It's one thing I never even want to talk about."

Following the Rwandan genocide, Sebufirira became the managing editor of the independent Rwandan newspaper Umuseso, a paper he co-founded. He says he was forced to flee the country after receiving death threats from senior members of the government security services, related to articles in Umuseso that exposed government corruption.

Today, he lives in Burnaby and works as a security guard. And while he wants to get on with enjoying the possibilities of a new life in a new country, he says he has recently begun to feel the psychological effects of what he witnessed as a boy.

"I thought I was passed that. But here I am, 10 years have passed, [and I'm in] a different country. I thought I wouldn't even think about it. But [when I see] stories about Rwanda, I find my life becomes meaningless and I lose hope... The whole weekend I had nightmares of what happened."

His words are eerily echoed by Waisman who, 60 years after his liberation, continues to revisit the horrors of his own youth in his dreams.

"A few months ago, and I pray that I don't have it again, I had a nightmare that I was back in the concentration camp," he says. "Only it was the present time, as today, and I was with my kids. When I woke up, I was devastated. I had to get up, go into the living room, and find reality and realize that hey, my kids are safe. It's 2005. It's not back then."

Historically, Jews and Muslims have had a troubled and, at times, violent relationship. But through events such as the one organized by Michaelson and Robin, bonds are being forged between the two communities.

Nouri Abdalla, a 43-year-old Muslim from Sudan, has lived in Canada for over 10 years working as an independent exporter of pharmaceuticals to Africa. He lost eight members of his family in the ongoing slaughter taking place in Darfur. As part of his advocacy work with the Darfur Association of Canada he has forged ties with many groups to stop the killing, but none of the connections are as strong as those he has made with the Canadian Jewish Congress.

His connection with the Jewish organization began in August 2004, when Abdalla heard Weintraub speak at Simon Fraser University for an event to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur. Abdalla was impressed, and approached Weintraub to suggest they join forces. Together, the two associations have tirelessly lobbied politicians and government ministers to take action.

"[Our membership] is very supportive of the direction we've taken working with the Jewish community," says Abdalla. "They know that the executive community of the Darfur Association of Canada has been working closely with the Canadian Jewish Congress."

Not all Sudanese Muslims have been so quick to jump on board, however. Robin and Michaelson have been working with Lubna Abdelrahman, an immigrant from the northern region of Sudan who arrived in Vancouver in 2002 as a refugee. A family outreach worker with Vancouver Family Services, Abdelrahman says when she first approached her fellow Sudanese to gain support for the May 24 event, she was met with skepticism.

"At first, people were hesitant," she says. "It's difficult to change what happened in our minds [regarding the Jewish-Muslim conflict] ... Even my husband said, 'Think about whether you really want to do this.'"

But Abdelrahman persisted, urged on by the sense that she wanted to provide a model of peace between Jews and Muslims.

"I feel a lot of things happened many years ago between Jewish and Muslim [people]. I feel that in Canada we are in a new land... and we need to build a new relationship. I said that what happened in the past is not our fault. We need to build a new concept between us and Jewish people together."

Eventually, after much prodding and convincing, Abdelrahman secured a list of 10 people from her community to volunteer at the event, including musicians who will be performing during part of the evening.

For Abdalla, working with inter-faith groups has not been an issue, and the support of the Jewish community has been an essential part of his campaign.

"The genocide that's being committed in Darfur is not a Jewish issue, not Islamic, not a Christian issue. It's a human issue," he notes, adding: "The Jewish community's support stems from the fact that the Holocaust was a time when the world pretty much abandoned the Jews... We relate to what they've gone through. Now we know."

Abdalla is in contact with members of his family who are in refugee camps or trying to keep safe in the cities, and the reports they give him are disturbing.

"There's complete civil disorder throughout the region," he says. "Nobody can trust anybody who's wearing a government uniform, whether military or police, because the Janjaweed militias, when they attack a village before they burn it down, they walk into a village wearing government military attire.

"There is no safe place, even in the refugee camps. You cannot leave the refugee camp for less than half a kilometre before a woman can be subjected to rape, or a child is abducted, or somebody gets killed... It's happening every single day."

Reports from international organizations back up what Abdalla's relatives are telling him. The "crude mortality rate" usually used to define a humanitarian crisis is one death per 10,000 people per day; the World Health Organization's latest mortality estimates for the internally displaced persons in Sudan are 1.5 per 10,000 per day in North Darfur, and 2.9 per 10,000 per day in West Darfur. On March 14, the United Nations announced a death toll in Darfur of more than 180,000 in the past year and a half-equaling 10,000 people a month for the last 18 months.

The deaths are, in large part, due to the conditions in the refugee camps, where malnutrition and disease are claiming thousands of lives, the majority of which are children's.

While the United Nations has acknowledged the crisis in the region, it has yet to send troops to Darfur, choosing to work through negotiations and ceasefire agreements with the local government. The African Union deployed about 3,000 peacekeeping troops into the area last year, in its inaugural mission. Abdalla notes that "they have a very restricted mandate."

"Basically the international community is just talking," he says. "They are just saying things but not doing anything... Killing, terrorizing, raping women, abducting children, burning villages, nothing has changed." But the work of people like Abdalla, Weintraub and Waisman appears to be paying off. On May 12, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced a pledge of up to $198 million for humanitarian aid and support for the African Union's effort in Sudan. In addition, 100 Canadian troops will be sent in an advisory role. That may not sound like much but, says Abdalla, it is significant:

"Even though the number [of soldiers] is very small, we really do commend the prime minister. Canada is the only Western government that has decided to send troops of any sort into Darfur. It's the first and only one."

For Weintraub, Martin's announcement-which some see as a move to hold onto his office in the midst of scandal-is an acknowledgement that the public's voice can be heard.

"For the first time in the last nine months that I have been working with my community and my board and my organization on this issue, I feel the beginnings of some sense... that as Canadians we do have the ability to respond to a tragedy of this magnitude," he says.

For all those involved in the May 24 event, however, there is much more work to be done. The killings will not stop overnight, nor will the suffering end when the fighting does.

"We're not letting up," says Abdalla. "We're going to push as hard as we possibly can... The social fabric in Darfur has been damaged beyond repair. It will take generations and generations to repair it and knit it back together..."

And for Waisman, who wrestles to find some meaning out of all the suffering and violence he has lived through, Darfur offers hope of redemption.

"When I see people standing up for Darfur and the Sudan," he says simply, "it gives me hope."

Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan is at the Wosk Auditorium of the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre, May 24 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

http://www.vancourier.com/issues05/054105/news/054105nn1.html

Jewish Independent: Honoring a long-ago promise

May 20, 2005

Honoring a long-ago promise
Local groups and government take action to tackle Sudanese crisis.

DANA BOOKMAN

Two generations ago, when the Holocaust ended, Jews around the world made the promise, "Never again." It was supposed to be a guarantee that such an indescribable, inhumane tragedy would be prevented in the future. But it has happened again. And it is still happening today in western Sudan – in what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.It began more than two years ago, following an insurgency by two rebel groups. The government dispatched an Arab militia group – the Janjaweed – in retaliation, with members recruited from local tribes attacking African civilians. Now, "People are being raped, attacked, killed and driven from [their] homes into neighboring countries," said Mira Robin, part of a group of young Jews trying to raise awareness about the issue.

"Innocent civilians were living everyday lives and all of a sudden they've been uprooted, stricken by violence," said Robin, adding that this tragedy is reminiscent of the Holocaust. So far, 300,000 people in Darfur are thought to have been killed and more than two million others have been displaced. According to the UN, millions of people in Sudan could still face food shortages in the next 18 months.

Robin and a committee of concerned citizens, along with Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, are hoping to raise the profile of the crisis in Darfur with Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan.

Key speakers at the May 24 event will include Robbie Waisman, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp and co-founder of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

"The Holocaust was supposed to teach the world compassion and understanding and that it should never happen again," said Waisman. "When I see things around the world, like what's happening in Darfur, I and other survivors get outraged, because the world hasn't learned its lesson yet."

Robert Sebufirira, another speaker at the event, hopes to encourage people to do something to help the survivors of the crisis – which the UN has stopped short of calling a genocide.

"After the Holocaust, people said the promise of 'Never again' was not brought into action, because of the Rwandan genocide," said Sebufirira. "As Africans, and as people, this is the time to be aware. We have to contribute to stop [the] killing in Sudan and this is the right opportunity to call on individuals to do something."

Sebufirira – once editor of Rwanda's only independent newspaper, Umuseso – survived the 1994 genocide in his home country. He says he feels obligated to help with anything related to awareness of genocide. "After what happened to me in Rwanda," he said, "I wouldn't want to see it happen to anyone else."

There have been some positive steps to help the victims in Sudan. Last week, Canada became the first western country to begin to promise to protect civilians there. The government committed $260 million to aid efforts in Darfur. That pledge also includes an initial 100 Canadian forces military experts. They will support the more than 2,000 African Union soldiers already in Sudan to protect refugees from the fighting. About 40 Canadian troops will also join a United Nations observer force in the southern part of the East African nation.

CJC Pacific Region chair Mark Weintraub said the Vancouver Jewish community has been instrumental in pushing for Canada's involvement in Sudan. He said the community "is playing on a stage much larger than we usually do. Without exaggeration, I can say that we have been a catalyst [for government action]."

Nouri Abdalla is a member of Vancouver's Darfurian community and has family members in refugee camps in Darfur. Abdalla said he's delighted about the government's contribution."

Canada is sending a strong message to [the] world by sending the first western troops into Darfur," he said. "It's a positive step in [the] right direction and I hope [the] rest of [the] world will follow."

Waisman also said Canada's pledge is a good start. "We're putting pressure on the government and it's working," he said. "But we have to keep up the pressure. We are our brothers' keepers."

Robin is hoping that this event will send a message to other international political leaders to take the action needed to spare the people of Darfur further suffering and misery.

"We want this event to empower individuals to put further pressure on the government and international community," she said.

Sen. Mobina Jaffer, who is being sent to Sudan as a special envoy by Prime Minister Paul Martin, will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will also feature a photo exhibit and a question and answer period.

Although there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about a resolution to the horror in Darfur, Waisman warned, "There is still evil in the world and we have to use lessons from the Holocaust to teach compassion. As long as I am healthy and can do this, and bring this to the attention of governments and people, I have no choice: I have to do it."

Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan is a free event. It's being held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in the Wosk Auditorium at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

Dana Bookman is a Vancouver writer.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/May05/archives05May20-01.html

CJC News Release: CJC commends Canadian government for Darfur commitments

May 12, 2005 - CJC comments Canadian government for Darfur commitments

For immediate release

TORONTO - Canadian Jewish Congress commended the Canadian government for following through on its commitment to help end the suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan by offering increased financial assistance and enhanced diplomatic support for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).

Prime Minister Paul Martin announced earlier today a pledge of up to $198 million for more humanitarian aid and increased support for AMIS, as well as the creation of an advisory team to coordinate and promote Canadian initiatives on the ground in Darfur.

“For almost 18 months, CJC has been working with coalition partners, concerned parliamentarians and government officials to encourage Canada to lead the international community effort to help end the human rights violations that have left nearly 2 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 500,000 dead,” said Mark Weintraub, Chair of CJC’s National Darfur Committee.

“We are gratified that our efforts to mobilize public awareness of this tragic crisis have helped result in government action,” he added.

“On behalf of the Canadian Jewish community, we are working to ensure that the words ‘never again’ are translated into concrete Canadian action. We encourage Canada to intervene with substantial peacekeeping forces in order to play an active role in stopping the carnage,” said CJC National President Ed Morgan.

“While it is too late for those who have perished or have been displaced, we remain committed to supporting Canada’s efforts to help end the horrors that have virtually decimated the people of Darfur,” he noted.

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Contact:
Wendy Lampert
National Communications Director
Canadian Jewish Congress
416-631-5844
wlampert@on.cjc.ca
www.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=708

CJC News Release: Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Social Justice Top Issues at Candidates’ Forum

May 06, 2005 - Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Social Justice Top Issues at Candidates’ Forum

For immediate release

VANCOUVER - The United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society (S.U.C.C.E.S.S.), Vancouver Multicultural Society, and Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region are jointly sponsoring a forum for candidates in the provincial election.

Monday, May 9, 2005 at 7 p.m.
Norman Rothstein Theatre, 950 West 41st Ave., Vancouver, B.C.

Confirmed attendees for this forum are:

Liberal candidates - Virginia Greene (Vancouver Fairview), Carole Taylor (Vancouver Langara), Colin Hansen (Vancouver Quilchena), Patrick Wong (Vancouver Kensington) and Wally Oppal (Vancouver Fraserview)

New Democratic Party candidates - Gregor Robertson (Vancouver Fairview), Anita Romaniuk (Vancouver Langara), Jenny Kwan (Vancouver Mount Pleasant), David Chudnovsky (Vancouver Kensington) and Jarrah Hodge (Vancouver Quilchena)

Green Party candidates - Damian Kettlewell (Vancouver Point Grey), Doug Warkentin (Vancouver Langara), Raven Bowen (Vancouver Mount Pleasant), Cody Matheson (Vancouver Kensington) and Stuart Mackinnon (Vancouver Kingsway).

"This forum will provide one of the most important venues for candidates to address issues that are top concerns for multicultural communities," says Mark Weintraub, Chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. Other organizers echoed these statements.

"S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is very pleased to partner with CJC and VMS in organizing the Vancouver Candidates' Forum," says Ken Kwan, Chair of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. "As a bridge between the immigrant community and the community-at-large, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has a continuing public education program that encourages Canadians to participate in public affairs. We hope that the forum will better inform the public and encourage the voters to exercise their citizen's rights to elect people they trust in shaping the Province's future."

Godwin Eni, Chair of the Vancouver Multicultural Society, says "The pre-election public forum provides a very important opportunity to get to know our candidates and to learn about their views on social justice, racism, immigration, multiculturalism and human rights."

This forum is an open event and members of the public and media are cordially invited to attend.

The meeting will present an opportunity for the public to learn more about where the parties and candidates stand on important issues of social justice, human rights, multiculturalism, education, healthcare and a range of other provincial concerns. In addition to introductory remarks from candidates and questions from the sponsoring organizations, the meeting will include an open forum during which members of the audience can present questions to the candidates.

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Contact:
Erwin Nest
Executive Director
Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region
604-257-5101 (office)
erwinn@cjc.cawww.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=711

Canadian Jewish News: CJC repeats call to beef up B.C. hate crime team

By PETER CAULFIELD
Special to The CJN


VANCOUVER - British Columbia's Hate Crime Team needs more money to confront and combat bias and hate-motivated crimes in the province, says Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region (CJC).


That was one of the recommendation that came out of the organization's recently released report titled Public Affairs Action Agenda.


Mark Weintraub, chair of CJC's Pacific region, said that while the Hate Crime Team still exists, its operations have been cut back under Premier Gordon Campbell's Liberal government.

"We're worried that its early gains have been undermined during the last four years," he says.


CJC has noted in the past that as a result of provincial cuts, the unit has not been able to do outreach and education or fill vacant positions, including hiring a data analyst and seconding a Vancouver police officer to join the unit's full-time RCMP officer.


The Hate Crime Team was set up by the previous provincial government. It's made up of specially trained police offcers and Crown attorneys with expertise in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.


The team deals with a broad range of hate-related crimes, including graffiti, assaults and murder, and looks into attacks against minority groups such as Jews, gays, aboriginals and Muslims.


Its recent work includes investigations into an anti-Semitic column in a Lower Mainland Muslim newspaper, and a call by a local Muslim cleric for jihad.


Weintraub said the team should be training all B.C. law enforcement officials to identify crimes where the intent goes beyond an attack on an individual and becomes a threat to society.


"It needs enough money so, for example, provincial law enforcement personnel have sufficient computer power to monitor, record and analyze data related to hate crimes," he said.


The 64-page Public Affairs Action Agenda is a summary of CJC priorities and will guide the organization's ongoing human rights work for the next three years.


The document identifies six areas of concern: hate and bias crime, hate propaganda, Holocaust education, human rights protection, multiculturalism, and affordable housing.


In addition to a call for more funding for the Hate Crime Team, its recommendations include greater intergovernmental co-operation on monitorng and combating hate propaganda, ensuring that Holocaust education remains part of B.C.'s required education curriculum, establishing an information and advisory office wihin the provincial human rights apparatus, improved links between multicultural stakeholder groups; and increased funding for affordable housing.

"Implementing these recommendations are key to ensuring the Jewish community lives and thrives in Canadian society, free of anti-Semitism," Weintraub said.


Canada's approach to fighting hate crime has proven to be successful, he added. "Canada today has a lower incidence of hate crime compared to either the U.S. or Europe."


Congress said the report has been sent to Campbell and to NDP leader Carole James.


Calls to Campbell and James, who are in the middle of a provincial election campaign, were not returned.


To read the CJC report online, visit http://www.cjc.ca/docs/RD/177_PAAA2005.pdf.

CJC News Release: Results of Survey Released - Parties Address Canadian Jewish Congress Concerns

April 28, 2005 - Results of Survey Released
Parties Address Canadian Jewish Congress Concerns

VANCOUVER - Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region today released the responses of the B.C. Liberal and New Democratic parties to questions of particular concern to the Jewish community.

The survey, which provides a reliable gauge of party positions on multicultural and human rights issues in each election cycle, is part of the organization’s mandate to inform and engage Jewish voters in the civic process.

The two parties each answered seven questions on diverse topics, including: support for the provincial Hate Crime Team; hate propaganda; Holocaust education; human rights protections; multiculturalism; affordable housing; and First Nations self-government.

“The parties have made clear their positions on these crucial issues facing our province and our country,” said Mark Weintraub, chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. “All British Columbians who are devoted to social justice and a civil society will benefit from these answers.”

The questionnaire was posed to the B.C. Liberals and the New Democrats, the two parties that have held governmental power in recent legislatures. Each of the questions was prefaced by the parties’ stated commitments to similar questions four years ago.

The full text of the survey and the parties’ responses are attached and also available online at http://www.cjc.ca/docs/RD/181_Party%20Survey%20April%202005.doc

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Contact: Erwin Nest
Executive Director
Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region
604-257-5101 (office)
erwinn@cjc.ca
www.cjc.ca

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=704

The National Post: Ottawa Will Send Troops to Sudan

Ottawa will send troops to Sudan
31 soldiers to join UN observers in early summer
By Chris Wattie

OTTAWA, Apr 11, 2005 -- Canada will send a military mission to Sudan within two months, the National Post has learned. The Canadians will join a United Nations observer force monitoring a ceasefire in the vicious civil war in the southern half of the impoverished African nation.

A Department of National Defence source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government will announce this week that 31 Canadian soldiers will be deployed to the East African nation in early summer.

The Canadian troops will be part of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and will include military observers and training officers supporting more than 2,000 African Union soldiers already in Sudan to protect refugees from the fighting.

The source said the Canadian soldiers have been told to be ready to deploy to Sudan by the end of June. "This will all be happening in pretty short order," the source said.

Mark Weintraub, the chairman of the Canadian Jewish Congress's Darfur committee, said the coming announcement is a badly needed step toward ending what he calls "the worst human rights catastrophe in the world today."

Mr. Weintraub said Canada can act as a lever to move other nations to commit more troops to stop the killing in the Darfur region of Sudan.

"The people in Darfur need protection," he said. "And the Canadian government has to do everything in its power to catalyze the international community."

"A competently trained, well-equipped force is necessary to go in there and impose order ... to avoid another Rwanda."

More than two million people have fled their homes and as many as 300,000 have been killed in the Darfur fighting, which the United States has described as genocide.

A UN-appointed commission stopped short of calling it genocide, but said crimes against humanity had been committed and may be no less serious than genocide.

Dr. David Bercuson, of the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, said the small size of our mission to Sudan means Canada will play a relatively minor role in resolving the situation.

"The chief of defence staff's [General Rick Hillier] mantra until now has been that we aren't going to be doing things piecemeal," Dr. Bercuson said. "Well, this looks pretty piecemeal to me.... I don't know if we get any real international benefit out of missions like this."

However, he said that given the current demands on the Canadian Forces and its limited ability to airlift troops or equipment to far-flung missions overseas, 31 soldiers is probably all that could be managed.

"Someone in the Department of Foreign Affairs probably thought this was an easy and relatively cheap way to look like we're doing something to back up our rhetoric on Darfur," Dr. Bercuson said.

UNMIS was established to support a shaky ceasefire between southern rebels and the northern-based government. It is also to support the African peacekeepers who are now protecting refugee camps from the predations of the Janjaweed militia.

Mr. Weintraub said that by joining the UN mission, Canada may well "open the door" for other Western nations to contribute troops to a much larger force. "What is needed is 6,000 or 7,000 troops, because Darfur is an area about the size of France ... and a mandate to go out and protect people."

The UN Security Council has voted to send Darfur war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court, including up to 51 people accused of crimes against humanity.

The sealed list of suspects is believed to include senior Sudanese government and army officials, Arab militia leaders and some rebel leaders and foreign army commanders.

The Sudanese government decried the move as unfair, but this month arrested 15 military and security officials for crimes including rape, killing civilians and burning villages.

Also republished at http://www.sudaneseonline.com/earticle2005/apr13-39308.shtml