By Vic Ratsma
While watching the late news on CBC-TV on September 6 of this year, a dreadful human tragedy was being portrayed in a 13minute video segment. It involved a certain Mr. Shakir Baloch, a man of Pakistani origin and a Canadian citizen living with his family in Toronto. Baloch is a well-educated person, having studied medicine in his native Pakistan and specializing in radiology. After immigrating to Canada, he had hoped to work as a doctor in a Canadian hospital, but found that his qualifications were not being recognized. Even after passing certain exams, he could not obtain a residency in any hospital.
Eventually he got an invitation to work in a New York hospital and, while officially remaining in Toronto, he accepted this position, even though he had no legal right to work in the USA. New York has about 500,000 people working in the city without proper papers, so he was inconspicuous enough and did well. He was grateful to America to give him this opportunity to work.
Then came the events of September 11 and the new rules and the crackdowns on illegal immigrants. During one oh his border crossings from Canada to the USA, he was questioned and placed on the US immigration database. The new laws focused especially on illegal immigrants from Arabic countries and Shakir fit that profile. He was arrested and moved to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in NYC, where he was out in solitary confinement in a 6x7 foot cell. He was kept incommunicado, denied legal council or contact with his family. His cell had only a tiny, blinded window, bright lights were on day and bight and intermittent deliberate noise kept him from getting any rest. Under these conditions he was interrogated by the FBI four times, threatened with 20 years in jail, deportation to Pakistan and other forms of psychological torture. He felt that they were going to kill him. For a person who had never been arrested in his life and who was innocent of any wrongdoing, these conditions were devastating.
When no contact with his family in Toronto had been made fir some time, his daughter started a search for his whereabouts. She searched for two months. The Canadian Consulate in New York was approached but offered no help. Eventually, a US lawyer was obtained who, through personal contacts, found out where Shakir was being held. He obtained access to him and was shocked to find Shakir shackled in his cell under conditions which he described as inhuman. His efforts to have Shakir released were being obstructed continually by the US justice department, but, after seven months in jail, he was finally released and unceremoniously dumped across the Canadian border without a penny.
Today, Shakir is a broken man, who is under psychiatric care for post-traumatic stress and depression. His friends hardly recognize him from the lively person they once knew. Shakir continues to suffer from flashbacks, lack of sleep and says that he is not the man he used to be. His faith in the American justice has been destroyed completely. According to his psychiatrist, he may never totally recover from this experience.
MY COMMENTS:
It is known that many more innocent people are being held in US jails, held under minor charges, but treated as the worst kind of criminals, How many are being held is unknown, as the US Justice Department will not release any figures. Some are held under military justice, without any contacts with their families or the outside world. Detentions ate undetermined periods of time. Most are of Arab or Middle Eastern origin, this being the only reason being suspected of al Qaida or terrorist connections. This is racism of the worst form. Their treatment while in custody is akin to fascism. There are already signs that the political repression has started, as the US has put the Communist Party of the Philippines on the list of terrorist organizations and internal political dissent is treated more harshly. Shades of the early days of Nazi Germany.
It’s time for the American people to wake up and facilitate a regime-change in their own country as soon as possible, before all of your precious freedoms go up in smoke!
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