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*This event will be broadcast live on rabbletv*
Project Fly Home is organizing the first ever "Sanctions-busting Telethon and Spaghetti Dinner" on April 28th to publicly celebrate our open defiance of the 1267 sanctions regime, challenging the fear, racism and isolation it creates and feeds on. The evening will include dinner and a host of poets, performers, speakers and actors who will join us for this truly unique evening.
On April 28th, 2008, Abousfian Abdelrazik went public with his story of detention, torture and exile and claimed refuge in the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum. He lived in the Embassy for more than a year, unable to leave the grounds, until the government was forced to bring him back to Montreal. Two years later, he is home but still not free.
Phone in or donate in person on April 28th. All contributions are welcome and very appreciated, not only for their practical value, but also for their important symbolic value in challenging the 1267 "prison" and in ensuring that Mr. Abdelrazik knows he is not alone in his struggle for justice.
TIME TO BREAK THE SANCTIONSAccording to the 1267 sanctions regime and under federal law, anyone who contributes money to Mr. Abdelrazik risks federal prosecution. Canadian regulations state that no Canadian shall "provide or collect by any means, directly or indirectly, funds with the intention that the funds be used" by a listed person.
We did it before! In early 2009, a group stretching from Vancouver to Halifax, including people from all walks of life - farmers, law professors, labour union representatives, artists, film-makers, lawyers, workers, former Cabinet ministers, grandmothers, students and more - banded together to buy Abdelrazik a plane ticket home for April 3rd, despite federal government insistence that financially supporting Mr. Abdelrazik could violate the law (see list here). This powerful act of solidarity reflected a groundswell of support for Mr. Abdelrazik as well as growing outrage at the government's abusive treatment of him.
Since Abousfian Abdelrazik came home last June after years of imprisonment, torture and exile, he has remained under sanctions that prevent him from earning a salary, receiving any money, or maintaining a bank account. This makes rebuilding his life impossible. It's like "living in a prison without walls." Yet he has no real recourse. As the Federal Court of Canada acknowledged in June 2009, "There is nothing in the listing or de-listing procedure [of the 1267 regime] that recognizes the principles of natural justice or that provides for basic procedural fairness." (More on 1267)
Despite its official position that Mr. Abdelrazik should be removed from the 1267 list, the Canadian government has made no serious attempt to have his name removed nor made any move to lift sanctions from Mr. Abdelrazik - although it could do so immediately.
As the Canadian state continues to show utter contempt for the lives of immigrants like Mr. Abdelrazik, we are calling on you to do it again! Restate your solidarity or join the long list of people who have defied the 1267 regime by contributing money to Mr. Abdelrazik as an act of solidarity. If we don't stand up for each other now, who will be left to stand up for us? Your donations will support Mr. Abdelrazik personally, and the very act of donating will help challenge the oppressive "national security" logic.
