They're welcome here
By Brian Bradley
For the past month and a half people in BC and the rest of Canada have been witnessing a growing hysteria surrounding the arrival of several boats of Chinese refugees.
When the third boat load of Chinese refugees were brought ashore on September 1, the media and the right-wing led the charge in a disgusting racist backlash.
It was fuelled by inflammatory headlines decrying the "waves of migrants" and "send them back" in Conrad Black's rags, the Times-Colonist or the Vancouver Province.
It was fuelled by the Reform Party immigration critic Leon Benoit who barnstormed into Victoria and gave a press conference warning that Canadians faced "increased health risks from diseases like tuberculosis and AIDS" because of the refugees.
It was fuelled by Vancouver Sun columnist Trevor Lautens who dredged up the "yellow peril" of the 1900s by warning that the arrival of the Chinese boat people was the beginning of the "Asiafication of British Columbia."
None of this is a surprise. We expect nothing less from the gutter press and the right wing.
But disgustingly, NDP cabinet ministers Moe Sihota and Ujjal Dosanjh joined the chorus.
In a statement to the Vancouver Sun, Sihota called for a group of Chinese to be deported immediately to send a message to the human smugglers. "The sooner these people are returned, then I think that will abort the efforts of the smugglers."
Dosanjh, the province's Attorney General and candidate for leadership, cited the anger of BCers towards the "illegal migrants" and went on to add that "nobody likes the fact that we are being deluged by these ships."
This capitulation to the anti-Chinese backlash was disastrous. It endorsed and legitimized the comments coming from the mouths of the bigots in the Reform Party and the arm chair racists in the editorial rooms of the TImes-Colonist and the Sun.
All the racists and bigots in province cheered and smiled and walked more confidently after hearing those statements.
This is what gave Doug Christie the confidence to revive his organization, Western Canada Concept, and hold a meeting on the Chinese refugees on September 10.
Christie is a prominent Victoria lawyer who has made a colourful career defending neo-Nazi's, anti-semites, and white supremacists. Described by the Law Society of Upper Canada as having made "common cause with his clients," Christie's meetings have been known to host a veritable who's who of Canada's "professional" racists. One former colleague described his meetings as "merely a front for a pro-Nazi agenda."
With all the newspapers braying for the deportation of the Chinese and every politician in the province falling over themselves to have the toughest stance on the refugees, Christie recognized the wind is blowing in his direction.
The aim of Christie and racists like him is to take the real desperation people in BC feel over the lack of jobs and services and direct it at the Chinese boat people and everybody else not of "European heritage."
Anyone who knows anything about the 1930s, racism and the rise of fascism knows where Christie's ideas lead.
Growing Opposition
But terrible as the backlash is, there are thousands who oppose it and who defend the refugees.
A poll done in the first weeks of the arrivals put support for the right of the refugees to be allowed in at 43% with 52% saying send them back. This is a far cry from the 97% against being touted by the Times-Colonist.
Recently, the blatantly biased reporting of the Times-Colonist has become an issue. People been writing in to the paper canceling their subscriptions. After CBC Radio ran an interview with the Times-Colonist 's editor, David Poole, an overwhelming majority of the voice messages aired, tore a strip off Poole.
The paper itself acknowledged a shift in public opinion. The editorial editor admitted that "at first, the letters were overwhelming against the migrants but lately they are more evenly divided in their feelings toward them."
What is remarkable is this is happening in a situation where not one single politician has publicly defended the refugees and there have been no headlines saying "let them in."
This mood needs to be turned from a sentiment into action to defend the refugees.
In Victoria, there have been two rallies organized to welcome the refugees at the military base where they are being detained. Both have drawn out around 100 people each time.
There was also a very militant and determined protest against a far right meeting on the immigration issue. This drew out over a 100 people in less than two days lead time.
These and future actions will be central to challenging the scapegoating and racism being promoted by the press and politicians.
They will be central to creating a strong movement that will take on the notion that refugees drain social services by saying that it is government cutbacks that are draining social services, not refugees.
It is not immigrants that are taking jobs. It is corporate layoffs at Eaton's and the airlines that are really taking jobs.
A movement that confronts these notions will be able to channel the anger and desperation that exists and direct it away from each other to where it should be pointed -- the corporations, fat cats, and politicians at the top.
See pages 7, 10 and 11