On May 3rd, Majed El Shafie, a former refugee himself and spokesperson for One Free World International gave a statement in Ottawa, Canada regarding an active genocide being committed against Yazidi and other minorities in the Middle East. He is presenting a motion towards the Canadian government for them to affirm that what is happening against the minorities in Iraq is in fact genocide. Despite governments in the EU, UK and US confirming this fact, the Canadian government has resisted naming the atrocities taking placing against these minority groups because of the culture and religion a genocide.
Canada has taken in over 25,000 refugees from the region, but according to El Shafie, the Canadian government has not given any evidence of helping the most vulnerable minority groups that are being targeted and systematically exterminated currently in Iraq and Syria. Canada plans to take in more than 50,000 refugees from Syria over the next few months.
Unlike Europe where refugees have come in droves by their own means, Canada has spent a great deal of effort and funds in order to bring in refugees from Syria in a very short period of time, claiming to screen for the most vulnerable. Syrian refugees to Canada have been given more assistance than average refugees to Canada from other countries and the current government claimed that most refugees were coming directly from refugee camps in countries neighboring Syria.
There has been evidence however that most of the refugees did not come from refugee camps, but were living in many border towns in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. El Shafie claims that there has been no specific effort to help targeted victims in his video statement, and is helping those minority groups in Canada push for the recognition of a genocide so those vulnerable groups can be helped by Canada directly.
It is logical and a matter of justice to help those targeted because of their race and religion from becoming ethnically cleansed. El Shafie makes the point that when a boat filled with Jewish refugees escaping Europe was turned back by the Canadian government during the Second World War, those who sought refuge in Canada at the time were returned and were murdered in the Holocaust. Please find the May 3rd 2016 video statement here.
