GOOD NEWS: Shortly before noon on July 2nd, the Federal Court ordered the government to suspend the deportation of the Buzas family. Their struggle is not over, but hopefully it will be very soon. It is a victory for the family, for the struggle against anti-Roma racism and for the fight against deportations. OPRE ROMA! STATUS FOR ALL! NO ONE IS ILLEGAL! Stay tuned for more updates.
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Wednesday, July 2nd at noon
Immigration Canada, 1010 St. Antoine (metro Bonaventure)
–> If you can’t come to the rally, please write a letter to the Minister of Immigration and donate – see below.
Renata Buzas and her husband Tibor, their children Tibor (13), Mercedesz (11) and Lili (9) are scheduled to be deported on Thursday, July 3rd. Come join us at a support rally to demand that the deportation be stopped.
From today’s press conference:
- Youtube: Une famille d’origine Rom menacé de déportation, Pascal Robidas
- Déportation d’une famille rom : la mère lance un cri du coeur, 24-heure, Journal de Québec, canoe.ca
- Roma family hopes for stay on deportation to Hungary, CJAD
- RCI Twitter feed
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Une famille Rom demande à Ottawa de surseoir à sa déportation, Radio Canada
- Renata’s statement
- Photo album
BACKGROUND
The Buzas family is of Roma ethnic origin and fears to return to their native Hungary, where racist violence against Roma and Jews is again on the rise, in a context of long-standing, deep-rooted discrimination. Renata herself was violently attacked by two racist men in the presence of her son Tibor, who was deeply traumatized by the incident. This was the last straw for the family and they decided to leave Hungary.
In Hungary, the three children were bullied and ostracized as Roma. In Montreal, they have made friends and found confidence. Importantly, Tibor (13) and his sister Lili (9) have finally received the support they need to address language development difficulties that did not receive necessary attention in Hungary.
Despite the widely documented violence and discrimination against Roma in Hungary, the Canadian government maintains that the country is “safe”, meaning that the Buzas family is not eligible for a pre-removal risk assessment before deportation.
The family has lived in Quebec since 2011 and applied for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds in December 2013 after being refused as refugees. They are now scheduled for deportation on July 3rd, even though their application has not been decided. If they are deported, the minister no longer has any legal obligation to respond to their application and in practice deportees are not accepted.
Renata Buzas brought her children to Canada to protect them from the discrimination and violence against Roma that she experienced her entire life in Hungary. Canada is about to send them back, before their application for permanent residence is even decided.
Reports on violence and discrimination against Roma in Hungary here.
Full background on family’s story here.
Other ways of supporting:
–> Write to Federal Minister of Immigration Chris Alexander and ask him to simply respond to the family’s humanitarian application before they are deported on July 3rd. Point out that in other recent cases, the government has quickly responded to give an answer before a deportation date.
CONTACT DETAILS: E-Mail: Minister@cic.gc.ca or Chris.Alexander@parl.gc.ca or Fax: 613-996-1289 or Fax: 905-426-9564
MODEL LETTER: click here.
–>Make a donation to the Buzas family. If they are deported next week, they will be leaving with nothing. They have absolutely nothing in Hungary, having sold everything in order to come to Canada. If they are not deported, the donations will help pay for campaign costs.
To contribute:
* paypal – www.solidarityacrossborders.org
* cheque – make it out to “Solidarité sans frontières”, put “Buzas family donation” in the memo line, and mail to
Solidarity Across Borders – QPIRG Concordia,
c/o Université Concordia
1455 de Maisonneuve O.
Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8
* cash – contact us at solidaritesansfrontieres@gmail.com to make arrangements
Status for All! End Deportations!