Christian refugees from Israel fresh cases Case Two
From family Chabanenko
(May 2003, Manitoba, Canada)
"serhiy chabanenko" - schkie0305@hotmail.com -
to anyone whom it may concern
This is an appeal from Diana CHABANENKO, in the name of non-Jewish
refugees from Israel: Diana, Sergei, and Yevgenia Chabanenko, and Yegor NAUMOV.
We ask you to help us in a crucial for us situation.
Our refugee case was evaluated with prejudice, with multiple procedural
violations. Right now, after receiving a refusal from a post determination
officer (PRRA), we are under a removal order, which is a first step to our
deportation from Canada. We are trying to save the situation by appealing
to the Federal court - still expecting a fair, free from partiality, attitude.
Problems have begun when we were preparing our case for our refugee
hearing. No lawyer was interested to take refugees' from Israel cases. All
lawyers, to whom we used to turn, been denying us help as soon as they used
to discover that this is a case against Israel. In the International Center
we were sent to maitre David Langtry. He has agreed formally to accompany
us in the immigration refugee process, warning us that any case from Israel
has no chance to succeed in Canada. International Center's translator has
refused to translate our claim as we made it, and removed many important fragments
(like references to international laws, norms, conventions and declarations,
UN conventions, Amnesty's documents: laws and principles, which were recognized
by all countries, and were permanently violated by Israel). Printed materials,
newspapers' articles were "forbidden" by the lawyer. Therefore, our case
was incomplete. Maitre D. Langtry briefly studied our claim, and gave us
no help or legal advice. He did no serious research or study in our case.
He did not know details of our refugee case, and manifested no interest to
know them. However, he was the only lawyer, who agreed to cooperate with us.
During our refugee hearing the lawyer asked us just 1 question: why
we have left Israel. His final word was not translated to us by the court's
translator. As soon as maitre D. Langtry took a word, the officer has left
the room - and he did not hear lawyer's words in our defense.
The main and almost only reason of persecution, to which we were
exposed in Israel, is because we are Christians.
For a Christian, immigration to Israel is illegal - according to
Israeli Law of Return. According to this law, a Christian, even if his /
her parents were Jewish, has no rights to immigrate to Israel. However, no
one explained this to us in Israeli consulate, and we have obtained our immigration
visas to Israel being non-aware of this problem.
As a daughter of a Jew, converted to Christianity, I was more hated
and detested then any one, who was born Christian. I was denied employment
because of the cross of my neck. When I finally was hired, I was mocked and
humiliated as soon as co-workers have detected that I am Christian. They persecuted
me by an obstruction, did not speak to me. They were biased the factory's
owner against me, defamed me... They have booted me out of the factory's
territory during Jewish religious holidays: because my presence there has
"contaminated and desecrated" factory's premises. They did everything to
provoke my dismissal from work. Once a female Israeli has outpoured a bucket
with dirty water on me - because she could not bear the cross on my neck.
Neighbors-Israelis used to leave garbage (trash) under our
door, damaged and painted our door with abusive slogans.
My son was beaten up by his schoolmates, they have forced him
to remove the cross from his neck and called him "dirty "goy" (non-Jew). His
schoolmates' parents have abetted their children in harass and abuse "Russians",
and to humiliate Russians - and by this force them to circumcise. Finally,
my son has refused to attend the school.
There is a draconian body in Israel, which is a part of Israeli Minister
of Interior. Israeli authorities have encourage people to spy on each other
and report about all "hidden non-Jews" to the Minister of Interior. Finally
- a delation on us was made to the Minister of Interior: that we are traitors
of the Jewish nation and came to Israeli illegally. On this ground the Ministry
of Interior has initiated a long and humiliating procedure of our removal
from Israel. We heard that prior to deportation Israel puts people to a prison,
and that also they may take children away from their parents.
We decided to depart before an eventual full deportation will be
on track, and turned to the Ministry of Interior with a request to issue
us Israeli foreign passports. For a long period of time (9 or 10 months)
Ministry of Interior has openly denied foreign passports to our children,
preventing their departure from Israel. Almost 1 year we were draw into an
exhausting struggle: endless demands, requests, audiences, appointments,
interview in the Ministry of Interior, etc.
Once I was told in the Ministry of Interior that our children
do not have Israeli citizenship. By then I did not believe this. I suggested
that this was a figural expression: because of the routine discrimination
of Russian-speaking people. However, now I think that I was told the truth.
(Recently we have submitted a request to Israeli consulate asking
for a confirmation in writing that our children have no Israeli citizenship).
2 times lesse-passes were issued for our children, but not foreign
passports. They could visit only Ukraine with these temporary travel documents,
but for entering other countries passports are needed. By then our children
were holders of Israeli immigration status (now we can say nothing about
their citizenship) already during 2 years, and a refusal to issue them foreign
passports was a tremendous violations of their rights. If they had no Israeli
citizenship, we had right to be informed about this officially, not by an
angry secretary in a form of an insult.
Ministry of Interior clerks in Ramle told me that Israel does not
need such stinky Christians as me. They told me that I can "go home" - leaving
my children in Israel, and they will be converted in to Judaism - and will
become real Jews.
After 9 months of humiliation and threats the head of the Ministry
of Interior in Ramle (Mrs. Shabalina) has informed us that will investigate
how we could illegally sneak into Israel, in violation of the Law of Return.
We have managed to depart from Israel, but there is a good reason
to suspect that Israeli authorities have warned Canadian Immigration about
our arrival. Otherwise it is hard to explain, why among all other passengers
of the airplane only we were suspended and taken to Immigration in the airport,
where our stay in Canada was restricted to 2 weeks.
It was absolutely clear that the Immigration refugee board could
not recognize us as refugees because Israel is an "untouchable" country,
which stays above any international law or principle. It was obvious - through
our case - that Israeli basic law, the Law of Return, is in fundamental conflict
with all international standards and conventions. We were discriminated and
persecuted BY THE STATE, because according to this state's law (the Law of
Return) we have sneaked into Israel illegally. However, Israel does not rash
to make (through Israeli consulates) every potential immigrant familiar with
the Law of Return and its racist demands-pre-conditions. They want to form
a group of second-class citizens with no rights, whom they can exploit and
humiliate.
Immigration refugee board did not dare to send a formal request to
Israeli Ministry of Interior, asking if we indeed were on a list of illegal
immigrants to Israel under investigation. They did not care if the State of
Israel will deport us as Christians to Ukraine or somewhere else, or will
keep us under a permanent threat of deportation, depriving of any rights.
Please, note that the refugee board found our description of persecutions
reliable, but did not recognize us as refugees according to Convention.
Unfortunately, we could not submit an appeal to the Federal court,
and not because we had nothing to say in our defense. Our lawyer, Maitre
D. Langtry, has refused to take our case to the Federal court. Another lawyer,
maitre Edward Rice, has demanded an unreasonable amount of money, informing
us that the cases from Israel are not "winnable" in the Federal court.
When our refugee hearing has took place, Israeli military forces
were desecrating and humiliating Christian Holy Places; they have siege the
church of the Holy Nativity and other most important Christians shrines.
They have damages Christian shrines, demolished the Arcade, which belonged
to the Christian Orthodox Mission, turning it into a dump of wreckage, and
all these facts have not been taken into consideration by the refugee board.
However, the treatment of Christian Holy Places, Christian shrines
by the State of Israel, by its army is a best illustration of their treatment
of Christians in general. They methodically attack and destroy Christian objects
on Israeli soil, they meticulously destroy Christians.
In October 2002 we have appealed for a Risk of Return (post determination
evaluation) - PRRA - program. For supporting our post determination case in
October 2002 I have contacted a lawyer in Israel. Mr. V. Melamed. I have asked
him to evaluate our case, our situation, making an estimate conclusion about
dangers, which will threat us if we'll return back to Israel. Maitre Melamed
has underlined next consequences for us if we'll go back to Israel:
1. A criminal case will be opened against us for obtaining forgery
passports for our children. (According to Israeli law it could lead to 2-5
years in a prison). In case of a prison sentence our children will receive
a governmental custody and will be converted to Judaism.
UN Human Rights Committee has many times criticized Israel
for inhuman conditions in Israeli prisons and aggravated contradiction to
international standards.
2. Termination of Israeli citizenship in accordance with the Law
of Return (amendments 4, 5).
Maitre V. Melamed has stressed that - according to Israeli judicial
tradition and norms - the whole procedure of termination of ones citizenship
may last for years (and practically has no time limits). Those, who are under
an investigation by the Minister of Interior concerning their "illegal" immigration
to Israel (because they are not Jews or not committed to Judaism but to other
religion) - lose their citizenship BEFORE Minister of Interior decision.
In its document "HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AFFECTING TRAFFICKED WOMEN IN
ISRAEL'S SEX INDUSTRY" (AI May 2000 AI Index: MDE 15/17/00) Amnesty International
has sharply criticized Israel for Israeli immigration policy. Amnesty called
unacceptable Israeli practice to put people, who are under investigation for
their "illegal" presence in the country, into a prison. Because Israel has
no immigration prisons (custody) system, "illegal" immigrants or tourists
are put into regular prisons for years. Amnesty found outraged that in cases,
when people were taken to Israel by their kidnappers (by force) or by deception
and deceptive promises: not the traffickers, but their victims were punished!
3. Maitre Melamed has informed us in his letter that during our absence
in Israel a new discriminative legislation was adopted (2001), with supplements
and amendments to Israeli Criminal Code. These new laws contradict all standards
of international treaties and norms. According to these new laws - people,
who are living abroad during some long period of time and suspected in an
intention to stay abroad forever, are criminals, who are accused in contemning
Israeli citizenship and must be punished.
Such people are punished by the next punishment measures: a) they
are denied medical services (let's remind you that Israel has no universal
free medical program as Canada, and people must pay for medicine anyway) for
2 months in proportion to every year of their absence in Israel (6 months
for 3 years of absence - this is ALREADY OUR TERM); b) they must pay a huge
fine for not working for an Israeli employer.
This is a direct indication that the State of Israel treats its citizens
as slaves.
In the same document mentioned above (AI May 2000 AI Index: MDE 15/17/00)
Amnesty condemns Israel for supporting and practicing slavery, saying that
- according to Israeli law - slavery is permitted in Israel, and buying and
selling people is not a criminal offence in Israel.
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All facts, documents and materials, which we have presented to Immigration
Canada, were just ignored; we did not receive any explanation about motives
behind Immigration's cruel decision in our case. We think that all declarations
of children's rights and welfare were brutally violated by the present decision
in our case. Probably, rights of the children of those, who are coming from
Israel, were excluded from the children's rights commitments. Our claim and
supporting it materials and arguments were left without any response.
We have no doubt that Canadian Immigration knows that Israel violates
Declaration of Eliminating All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination On
Ground of Religion and Opinion, chapter 5, paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5 (amendment
4). According to this article parents have rights to define child's way of
life in accordance with their religion; a child has rights to be educated
in a school, which respects child's religion. But in Israel Tora (main Jewish
religious book) in its Judaic interpretation is studied in all Israeli schools
as an obligatory item! It does not match the freedom of choice, for which
Declaration stays.
After our arrival to Canada representatives of the Jewish community
of the city of Winnipeg has approached us and insisted that we must leave
Canada. They have insisted that we will not receive a status in Canada and
will not gain anything. The message of their words was clearly that Canada
is a "Jewish country" - and will rule in a way, which is appropriate to the
Jewish interests.
Now I am thinking - how could people, who are not related to Immigration,
know the final result of our immigration ordeal?
If the result was known in advance - then all manipulations with
our immigration file within the immigration institution were not "justice"
but a show. Please, believe us that we really have no where to go. And if
we had - we would not bother Canada with our presence. However, in spite
of Immigration's attitude we love Canada, Canadian people - and we feel naturally
and free on Canadian soil. Otherwise we would not struggle so determinedly
and bare degrading attitude towards us in Immigration - with an obvious politicization
of our case in favor of Israel.
We both - my husband and me - are working; our children have no problems
at school; we are part of the church community, and we will be devoted and
good Canadian citizens. We are confident that it is good for Canada to have
people like us here, not in Israel. We (parents), and our children - will
be always loyal to Canada and will contribute to Canadian life and society.
We think that it is obvious not only for us - but for Canadian Immigration
as well. Why then Immigration must subordinate to Israel, why should Canada
must give up Canada's rights to keep such people as we are (because we ARE
refugees under Convention, because we ARE matching the post determination
definition) - to such a sinister country as Israel?
Dear Canadians! Dear Immigration authorities! Dear international
bodies' representatives! Please, understand that defending our rights you
are defending your own rights as well.
Yours truly,
Diana
Chabanenlo
and other
members of my family