The Chaudhrys are a family of five living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Well-established members of the broader community, they are facing an imminent deportation order to Pakistan, where they face violence, or death.
Hundreds of letters have already been sent to the Minister of Public Safety, asking him to stay the deportation. The family is now submitting a Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds application that, if successful, would allow the Chaudhrys to permanently stay in Canada. They need your support to make the application!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. SEND AN EMAIL to Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, asking him to stay the deportation of the family. This will give us more time to complete an application for the family on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and explore other options for the family.
You can do this via the Chaudhry Family Support Website at: http://chaudhrysolidarity.
2. WRITE A LETTER in support of the family to be included in the Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds Application. The letter should emphasize the family’s integration in Canada, including:
-they have lived in Halifax since 2003 and have made a home for themselves here.
-they have a viable business plan to open a Pakistani food restaurant
-they have taken courses to upgrade their skills, including computer and food safety courses
-they are active members of their community and volunteer with their local mosque
-their two youngest children were born in Canada. Their eldest child was born in the U.S.
-their eldest child attends school at the Maritime Muslim Academy
-there has been a large amount of grassroots public support for the family.
Letters should be mailed, faxed or dropped off at the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group, Rm 314 Dalhousie Student Union Bldg, 6136 University Avenue, Halifax NS, B3H 4J2. Fax: (902) 494-5185 (please specify NSPIRG).
3. Get more involved by joining No One is Illegal. Contact jane@nspirg.org
4. Tell your friends to do the same!
ABOUT THE FAMILY:
Chaudhry Roouf Ahmad and Fakhira Chaudhry fled Pakistan after being subject to violence and death threats from Fakhira’s family, who did not approve of their marriage. Fakhira was lucky to have been well-educated: she obtained a Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Pakistan, and was able to make her own decisions about whom to marry rather than submitting to the will of her parents. According to an Amnesty International 1999 report, every year hundreds of women in Pakistan die as a result of honour killings for the crime of choosing their marriage partner.
Given this situation, the couple were lucky to be able to escape to the US and then to Canada. The current threat of removal from Canada places the family, including their three children, at great risk. They came to Canada via the US in 2003, and have made a home for themselves with their three children in Halifax’s vibrant Muslim community. They have taken courses to upgrade their skills, and volunteer regularly with their mosque. The Chaudhrys also have the support of Greater Halifax Partnership and the local Islamic community in their proposal to open an Islamic / Halal food restaurant in Halifax.
On November 21, Fakhira gave birth to their third child, Muhammad Bilal Hasan Chaudhry, in a Halifax hospital. Their two older children, Noor-Ul-Imaan, born in Canada, and Rukhna Roouf, born in the US, have grown up in Halifax. Rukhna is currently attending Grade Three at the Maritime Muslim Academy.
The family’s refugee claim was rejected in 2006 and they are scheduled to be deported to Pakistan in Spring 2010. They face extreme violence if returned to Pakistan. Fakhira also has diabetes and other health conditions that she suffers as a result of the beatings she endured at the hands of her family.
For more info on the family’s case please visit: http://chaudhrysolidarity.
The Chaudhry Support Campaign is part of the No One is Illegal Campaign of the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group.