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Former Tamil castaways build new lives here
Tuesday, 20 October 2009 - 10:14 PM SL Time
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Twenty-three years ago, Anandakumar Sothinathan was floating off the coast of Newfoundland with 154 other Tamil refugees in two overcrowded lifeboats.
Instead of taking them to Canada, a smuggler had abandoned them in international waters with a compass and vague directions for finding freedom.
Over more than two days at sea, the lifeboats, which had just one motor between them, ran out of gas and began to drift. If anyone fell asleep, they risked tumbling into the rough sea. They had no food, and people prayed and cried.
We all thought we were going to die, Mr. Sothinathan recalled yesterday.
Finally, Newfoundland fishermen rescued them on Aug. 11, 1986, generating international headlines and sparking a fierce backlash from many Canadians who accused them of making bogus refugee claims. Unlike now, it was rare for migrants to resort to smugglers and dodgy ships.
Mr. Sothinathan hopes that the 76 men who arrived off British Columbia in a rusty cargo ship last weekend will be given refugee status. The migrants are believed to also be fleeing Sri Lanka`s bloody ethnic strife.
It is a desperate situation. People want to escape from the country and have a better life, he said. Canada is a good country and especially there`s a good chance for immigrants. It`s good for Canada and it`s good for the people who come here, too.
After arriving with only the clothes on his back, Mr. Sothinathan worked in low-wage jobs and attended college. He is now a financial planner, owns two houses and is married with four children.
I am an example for other people, said the 47-year-old who lives in Toronto.
Like his fellow asylum seekers, Mr. Sothinathan came to Canada from a West German refugee camp. Although he had managed to flee Sri Lanka, he said, the situation in West Germany was little better because refugees were treated poorly and could not work or study.
When someone came to the camp promising passage to Canada on a comfortable ship for about $3,000, Mr. Sothinathan, then 24, thought, Okay, I`m going to be on a cruise.
Instead, he found himself in a cramped old cargo ship that smelled of livestock and lacked a proper washroom. People had to sleep on the floor and eat mouldy bread. And after nearly two weeks, the captain ditched them.
They treated us like animals, said Mr. Sothinathan , noting he still has nightmares about the trip.
Among those who helped the newcomers resettle in Toronto and Montreal was Arul Aruliah, who was then chairman of the Tamil Eelam Society`s refugee and immigration committee. Two days after they were rescued, he flew to Newfoundland to assist.
Since then, he said, they have become productive members of Canadian society. At least one is a doctor. Others are entrepreneurs, accountants and truck drivers.
Mr. Aruliah said the migrants who arrived last weekend should be treated fairly and, provided they are legitimate refugees, be given the same opportunities as those who came before them.
They should be afforded access to the process, no different from any other people claiming refugee status.
That`s all. No more or no less. That`s how our system works.
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slmate
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 20 Oct 2009 15:24:55 GMT Report for Abuse
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Why would not the Sri Lankan government start a boat service to take all the Tamils to what ever countries they wish to go..
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RealKaruna
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 20 Oct 2009 15:34:55 GMT Report for Abuse
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Like his fellow asylum seekers, Mr. Sothinathan came to Canada from a West German refugee camp. Although he had managed to flee Sri Lanka, he said, the situation in West Germany was little better because refugees were treated poorly and could not work or study.
When someone came to the camp promising passage to Canada on a comfortable ship for about $3,000, Mr. Sothinathan, then 24, thought, Okay, I'm going to be on a cruise.
Instead, he found himself in a cramped old cargo ship that smelled of livestock and lacked a proper washroom. People had to sleep on the floor and eat mouldy bread. And after nearly two weeks, the captain ditched them.
They treated us like animals, said Mr. Sothinathan , noting he still has nightmares about the trip.
Among those who helped the newcomers resettle in Toronto and Montreal was Arul Aruliah, who was then chairman of the Tamil Eelam Society's refugee and immigration committee. Two days after they were rescued, he flew to Newfoundland to assist.
Since then, he said, they have become productive members of Canadian society. At least one is a doctor. Others are entrepreneurs, accountants and truck drivers.
Great story.
Edited By - RealKaruna - 20 Oct 2009 15:35:53 GMT |
AMIGO
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 20 Oct 2009 15:37:15 GMT Report for Abuse
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Well
this is a story of a one refugee tamil man
what others are doing there ??? :o( |
Bassa
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20 Oct 2009 15:48:54 GMT Report for Abuse
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These guys are crying for a homeland in SL and then buggering off to Canada Australia UK US etc.......just does not make sense to me.
If you really believed in the bs that people like thiviya blabber here, then you would stay and find a way (non-violent) to get what you think is yours......and these guys paid $45,000 each to come to Canada so they are not the poor starving hard-done-by wanni tamils.......the diaspora does not give a damn about....
these guys are just economic migrants who refuse to stand in the queue like everyone else but want to buy their way to the head of the line........not only pay, but lie and cheat to get there....
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Bassa
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20 Oct 2009 16:10:38 GMT Report for Abuse
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While Tamil Canadians have urged Canadian officials to show compassion, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told The Globe and Mail yesterday that that the migrants' illegal arrival highlights the growing problem of human smuggling.
The Conservative government has said it believes many refugee claims are bogus and has promised tougher legislation.
We don't want to develop a reputation of having a two-tier immigration system one tier for legal, law-abiding immigrants who patiently wait to come to the country, and a second tier who seek to come through the back door, typically through the asylum system, Mr. Kenney said in an interview.
We need to do a much better job of shutting the back door of immigration for those who seek to abuse that asylum system.
---quoting from the Globe and Mail today
Edited By - Bassa - 20 Oct 2009 16:12:00 GMT |
lttesympath
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 20 Oct 2009 17:29:15 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Sending a Tamil man back to Sri Lanka would be political suicide in the left leaning Canada (our conservative party is really equivalent to the democratic party in Canada.) Just look at the front page of CBC. The first story is on the EU considering stopping their subsidies. The world has seen the true colours of Sri Lanka. Soon foreign nations will stop bolstering this failed state and the Sinhala will see how great their nation is without IMF, subsidies, etc. essentially a beggar nation. It is amazing what a few decades of Sinhala rule can do to a nation, remember the days when Ceylon had to turn away illegal migrants? Even the educated Sinhala have left the sinking ship. The country will be in disarray, and the Sinhala looked on happily as Tamils fled by the 100,000s thinking that they have gotten rid of us, but all they did was allow the world to see the truth. Now they look jealously when a Tamil person with a bit of money has a good chance of escaping. Even the most nationalistic Sinhala would take a green card in a second. What does that tell you about Sinhala patriotism? |
goodheart
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20 Oct 2009 17:40:44 GMT Report for Abuse
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these guys are just economic migrants who refuse to stand in the queue like everyone else but want to buy their way to the head of the line........not only pay, but lie and cheat to get there....
I do not know bassa, what you and I do if we are tamils and live in those areas where there is no justice, I do the same thing like everyone else..basically get the hell out of there, everyone deserve a chance, they try to do what ever possible to get ahead. If they have a chance at least to live as a normal human being, they probably not risk their lives....I am lucky, and I think you are too to have a better than a normal lives......not all that fortunate, so I do not blame them for trying to find something better than what they have..
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Bassa
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20 Oct 2009 17:41:59 GMT Report for Abuse
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The world sees you as people that want to use back doors, jump queues, manipulate the systems to their advantage.....this is certainly in Canada......if you don't believe me google Globe and Mail, read the article that I quoted and then read the readers' comments.....that will be very educational.......and this is a so called left leaning newspaper, with presumably a liberal readership.......
the Canadians are getting wise to your subterfuge.....
Edited By - Bassa - 20 Oct 2009 17:43:48 GMT |
Bassa
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20 Oct 2009 17:51:19 GMT Report for Abuse
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so I do not blame them for trying to find something better than what they have..
sure, but play by the rules.......if they left because their lives were in imminent danger why then undertake a 13,000km boat ride at great risk?........there are many countries including India, that they could have escaped to between SL and the west coast of Canada.......the fact that they paid $45,000 to come to Canada means they are wanna-be economic immigrants who don't give a rat's ass for the laws of the very country they now want to take residence in.....
for example Sothinathan who this article is about, came from West Germany....his life was not in danger.......he wanted a better life but was not prepared to go through due process.......
as I said before, it looks like a lot of tamils think that the rule of law is for others......they seem to think that they are above it all and can do as they please...
Edited By - Bassa - 20 Oct 2009 17:52:59 GMT |
gonnamba
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20 Oct 2009 18:00:06 GMT Report for Abuse
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About the 76 guys waiting in BC, If the Canadian government can establish the true identity of these guys, They will be able to establish that most of them (if not all) were LTTE thugs who were hiding in INDIA.
They should be handed over to INDIA to be dealt as LTTEers.
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