Another Successful Campaign

Campaign for Parisa and her 4 year old daughter at Casablanca Airport was also successful

The UNHCR in Morocco and the Canadian government granted refugee status to Parisa and her daughter 

On Friday 13 April 2007 the UNHCR representative in Morocco visited Parisa Soraya Irvigh and her 4 year old daughter at Casablanca Airport and formally informed them of their decision along with the Canadian government in favour of their asylum application. The process of their resettlement in Canada practically got on the way as of Friday.

Parisa Irvigh had been stranded at the Casablanca airport since 3 March and the Moroccan authorities had intended to deport her back to Iran. As soon as the IFIR was informed of this, it organised a global campaign and got into action by contacting tens of human rights organisations in Morocco and across the world in order to save Parisa. During this time the secretary of the IFIR Farshad Hosseini, was in constant contact with the UNHCR and the Interior Ministry of Moroca and other international bodies and forwarded many comprehensive legal and political correspondences along with many telephone conversations with them in relation to this case. In the meantime, this campaign was receiving support from hundreds of individuals and tens of organisations across Morocco and Canada. The organizatio of "Children first Now" in Sweden and Canada were also engaged in this life saving action to save Parisa and her daughter.

The Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) also gave its unequivocal support to save Parisa. Owing to such international campaign in defence of the human rights we managed to prevent a lengthy endurance of hardship for Parisa at the Moroccan Casablanca Airport.

The successful campaign for Parisa was yet another victory for the international solidarity front in defence of human rights and values. The IFIR as the defender of the refugees’ rights has gained even more strength during this campaign and will use its power to defend more refugees and for all its future campaigns to defend the asylum rights of those who run from the Islamic Republic or any other dictatorships and terrorising regimes in the world.

Hambastegi, IFIR would like to extend its congratulations to Parisa Irvigh, her daughter and the rest of her family along with all those individuals or organisations who supported this campaign, and will strive to see to the immediate resettlement of Parisa in Canada.

Once again, we call upon all Iranian asylum seekers and refugees to support this organisation and join the ranks of IFIR.

Hambastegi International Federation of Iranian Refugees

14 April 2007