A Community United
Writing by shinda on Wednesday, 12 of December , 2007
I haven’t heard much about the Laibar Singh case out here on the East Coast. It hasn’t been headline news and it hasn’t been a topic of discussion on any of the popular talk radio programs that I listen to, so all I really know about the case is what I found out while checking the various news outlets and snooping around on some West Cost blogs.
Basically, Laibar Singh came into Canada on forged passports, filed a refugee claiment saying he fears being tortured and prosecuted if he returns to India because he’s been unjustly blamed for terrorism. The fed’s end up not buying his story and order him out. He then seeks refuge of the Sikh Sangat, and then suffers a stroke which has left him a quadrapalegic. The community again files for asylum on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, stating that he’s in no condition to be deported and will not recieve the care he now needs if sent back to India. The government again turns a deaf year to all the lobbying and Labair Singh was to have been flown back to India last Sunday. Fortunately for him, the Sangat stood by him and came out in the thousands to protest at the airport, blocking all traffic and making it impossible to get Singh on the plane. Left with no choice the government granted Singh an extension and so thats where things were left, last I checked.
Not having all the facts let alone most of them, I still have a hard time believing the original refugee claim. Not that it can’t be true, just seems like everyone plus their mother has been taught to use it. Same time you can’t blame the portion of society, who wants the man out, he did after all break the law and could potentially be a burden on the system, and the law is the law, so why make exceptions or pick up the tab for his misfortunes when there are others who may very well be more deserving.
All that aside though, the fact that he is in the unfortunate circumstance that he’s in; having no family, and not being able to begin help himself, it’s only fitting that society as a whole lends out a helping hand. Also, with a community willing to pick up the tab, its hard to imagine what burden he can be on the system if any, so why make a fuss over it.
The politics of the matter already have the conservatives red in the face, and having a reputation of being anti immigration you would think they of all people would want to do something to change that. Then again, if nothing else comes from this, as someone else had pointed out to me earlier, its always good to see a community known throughout the mainstream for its infighting and distention amongst its groups, to have come together and put up a united front.
Category: News, Politics, Protest, Video
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cheaa from 
Made Thursday, 13 of December , 2007 at 1:44 am
dam this story did not get much play at all on the east. That was some really impression **** though. It proves the positives that can be done if we stick together as a community. Nice to see the guy kept his hair aswell.
WJKK WJKF
Sikh Youth will be raising awareness in Eastern Canada on New Years at Dixie Gurudwara. For more information and to help out please email The Sikh Activist Network via Sikhactivist@gmail.com
WJKK WJKF
This is a reminder to all activists in the GTA, that the Sikh Activist Network will be hosting an information stall regarding Laibar Singh at Dixie Gurdwara this New Years Eve, in the gym. We encourage everyone to come by the stall, introduce themselves and/or help out.
In accordance to statement 3 of The Sikh Activist Code which states,
“We demand an end to the racist war on immigrants and refugees. We demand an end to the deportations and status for all. No human is illegal.”
We will be petitioning for an end to the racist policies of the Conservative Government in their attempts to deport Laibar Singh.
sundeep singh from 
Made Saturday, 5 of January , 2008 at 11:53 am
There definitely was a racist element to all this. Besides obvious media bias, Wally Oppal himself mentioned that the immigration officer was racist. There were also clearly racist comments found among other immigration officers.
