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Second Class Refugees

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Clarissa

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At this very moment  (and for the next 3 days) my aunt, a refugee from the Donbass war zone, is undergoing such outlandish, ridiculous security checks in Canada that one wonders what kind of a freak invented them. This is only one stage in her endless bureaucratic struggle.

Strangely, no Prime Minister came out to hug her, no mayor crawled around her on his knees, and no phone cards or SINs were delivered.

My aunt, by the way, is not asking the Canadian government for a dime and is entirely self-reliant financially. Which, I’m guessing, is precisely the reason nobody in Canada is happy to see her.

7 responses to “Second Class Refugees”

  1. el Avatar
    el

    Sincerely wish her the best.

    Luckily, she already has relatives in Canada who can help her. Morally and with info, for instance. Our experience with immigration to Israel taught us that the most costy and valuable thing was information, which was sometimes quite hard to find.

    “such outlandish, ridiculous security checks” — ironically, Syrians are more likely to be a security risk in Canada than Donbass’ people.

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  2. cliff arroyo Avatar
    cliff arroyo

    “entirely self-reliant financially. Which, I’m guessing, is precisely the reason nobody in Canada is happy to see her.”

    Look! It’s someone who we can’t feel superior to because we helped them! Destory her!

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Precisely. Plus, with Syrians there’s the invaluable opportunity to feel better than Americans, and that’s just priceless.

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  3. Shakti Avatar
    Shakti

    Since she’s a refugee, isn’t she already in a position of need, and wouldn’t that activate the “I feel superior to you” button in Canadian brains?

    Or is she a refugee who can’t get into Canada as a refugee, which is why Canadians aren’t treating her like the Syrian refugees?

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      She’s white. And Syrian refugees are not perceived as fully white for some insane reason. This is not in the least about need or perceived need. This is much nastier.

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      1. Shakti Avatar
        Shakti

        This specific piece of history doesn’t inform her treatment in any way?
        It’s kind of interesting to me how Canadians position themselves as somehow nicer than Americans, while implying they were nicer in the past. Is it really just initial style?

        I’m sorry your aunt is going through all of this.

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        1. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          Nobody knows the history but Canadians are in a permanent competition and love sticking it to the Americans. And exuberantly welcoming Syrians helps to look better than Americans in a way that welcoming Ukrainians does not.

          There are immigrants entering Canada every day, there are refugees from really horrible places, etc. But nobody ever put on this kind of show for them. I don’t know about Toronto, but in Quebec people are very reluctant to be accepting towards immigrants. Which is why I conclude that all this is a show and the spectator is the neighbor to the South.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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