31 August 2009

SA white gets refugee status in Canada

Wow, Canada really has changed. In the 1980s it at least paid lip-service supporting the anti-apartheid struggle, but even in the worst days of apartheid I don't think I've come across anything quite as racist as this.

SA white gets refugee status: News24: SouthAfrica: News:
Ottawa - A white South African man has been granted refugee status in Canada, after an immigration board panel ruled he would be persecuted if he returned home to South Africa, the Ottawa Sun reports.

This is the first time a white South African has been granted refugee status in Canada claiming persecution from black South Africans, the newspaper said.

Brandon Huntley, 31, presented 'clear and convincing proof of the state's inability or unwillingness to protect him', the Canadian immigration and refugee board panel ruled last Thursday.

'I find that the claimant would stand out like a 'sore thumb' due to his colour in any part of the country,” tribunal panel chair William Davis said.


Hat-tip to The BlaBla Blog.

"Stand out like a sore thumb because of his colour in any part of the country?" That guy must be channelling Dr Verwoerd.

Is Canada really as racist as that?

8 comments:

Richard said...

While I would agree that on the face of it the decision is strange the accusation of racism, particularly when the actual decision is not yet available (I've just checked the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada's published decisions and it's not yet available).

Asylum decisions are not based on a criminal standard (beyond reasonable doubt) but on a lower standard of proof.

I think before harsh accusations are made a stand back to look at the determination of the particulars of this case is in order. Of course, maybe the Refugee Board is racist (I highly doubt it though) but, put simply, where's the specific evidence on which your basing this accusation in this case? While evidence is pending shouldn't judgements also be deferred?

Steve Hayes said...

Richard,

I am going by the reported statements of the chairman of the refugee board, William Davis. If he was incorrectly reported, then I'd be very pleased to hear it.

In the mean time, here is a follow-up report: http://tinyurl.com/n2nway

Steve Hayes said...

And for the other side of the story, read Ice-cold in Alex.

Anonymous said...

Very strange claim that a young white South African would stand out like a sore thumb anywhere in the country. We need more information on this one! I would like to hear the details of this case.

James Higham said...

That's rather interesting. I've been hearing a lot about SA lately and how bad it's getting. Comment?

Iosue Andreas Sartorius said...

It seems the Canadian asylum policy is pretty lax.

There was a case recently in which a Korean woman was given asylum in Canada because she suffered from a mental illness.

Sure, Koreans are perhaps less "enlightened" about mental illnesses than Canadians, but the mentally ill are heardly oppressed here.

Steve Hayes said...

"Why we are white refugees"

And your point is?

Your comment is too contradictory, disjointed, incoherent and unclear to make much sense of it.

But to answer the question you appear to be asking, no I don't know any journalists whose opinion is that black on white murder is racially motivated, much less any that are willing to bet on it.

My question is: even if there was such a journalist, how would you know whether they had won the bet or not? It's a bit like betting that paint is green.

home staging in Toronto said...

Saying that the white man would just stand out like a sore thumb is just silly and yeah, racist too. Anyway, SA is getting really bad. Something needs to be done about that.

Regards, Ella.

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