Honourable Ali Ehsassi,
member of parliament,
Willowdale, Ontario,
ali.ehsassi@parl.bc.ca
۴۱۶)۲۲۳-۲۸۵۸
Dear Member of Parliament,
I am writing to inform you about the tragic situation of about 37000 Iranian refugees in Turkey and request your government immediate and compassionate attention to their horrific situation. Iranian refugees who are former university professors, Journalists and professionals in various fields, live in unbranded conditions and some are forced to sell their bodies to eat. Some commit suicide. Some have nowhere to live and no food to eat.
It is a disaster!
You and the government of Canada are aware of the kind of regime these refugees are running away from.
Violation of basic rights of citizens in Iran, massive arrest of people for no reason and with no cause, use of torture and executions for fabricated “crimes” are part of the character of the Islamic regime in Iran.
Shooting down the PS 752 passenger plane and murdering all passengers and crews on that Ukrainian plane, kidnapping Rohollah Zam, the Paris base journalist and executing him in Tehran are among the well known and obvious acts of terror conducted by this regime against its own citizens and citizens of other countries. Kidnapping and hostage taking of dual citizens are becoming more common by this regime.
Iranian refugees in Turkey are much more venerable and easier target for Islamic regime in Iran. Among refugees in Turkey are former political prisoners who have fled Iran for fear of being arrested again. There are women who run away from family and tribal violation. There are human rights activists, lawyers and journalists who were just doing their jobs and found themselves framed and in danger of prison and even execution.
These refugees who are mostly young, educated and very talented and skillful, do not have permission to work. They have no protection, no income, no insurance and no safety.
UNHRC has washed its hands and left these people to deal with the Turkish police and local authorities. On top of that, many of them are in danger of being attacked by the Iranian regime secret agents at any moment. There has been many cases of kidnapping and terrorist attacks against more known Iranian opposition personalities in Turkey.
International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR), has started organizing the Iranian refugees in their own self-managed committees in different cities and communities throughout Turkey. They have started setting task forces to provide counselling and legal advice to those in need. They are identifying those most in need and taking care of them. They keep us aware of their situation and ask for help to to be delivered to the most in need.
According to Abdollah Asadi, President of IFIR, who is based in Sweden and a team of organizers on the ground, who live in Turkey, refugees are responding positively to form their committees and building trust and solidarity among themselves. This helps them to help each other and help us and all passionate Iranians in Europe and Canada to learn more about their immediate needs and extend our aids to them. There are a number of fairly large Telegram groups (1800 members), (800 members) and so on, that are connected to IFIR.
My colleagues and I, affiliated and members of IFIR in East and Western Canada, are closely monitoring the situation and respond to calls from Abdollah Asadi and his team of organized refugees, for urgent help as much as possible.
Our effort is not enough!
On behalf of IFRI in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa and Victoria Iranian-Canadian Centre (VICC), in Victoria, I am requesting your help to bring this information to the attention of the honourable minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mindicino, to allocate a special rescue mission to bring as many as possible of these refugees in immediate danger, to Canada.
Our organization is prepared to assist you in any way we can in this mission.
Best regards,
Abbas Mandegar,
Spokesperson,
Victoria Iranian-Canadian centre,
Victoria, BC.
abbasmandegar@gmail.com
۲۵۰)۶۸۶-۹۴۳۳
My colleagues and their collectives in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa are also available to provide more information and answer questions regarding the situation of Iranian refugee in Turkey.
Babak Yazdi,
IFIR, Toronto, ONT,
babakyazdi2@gmail.com
۴۱۶)۴۷۱-۷۱۳۸
Fahimeh Sadeghi,
IFIR, Vancouver, BC.
tamineh123@hotmail.com
۶۰۴)۷۶۳-۱۴۴۶
Soheila Dalvand,
IFIR, Ottawa, ONT soheiladalvand7@gmail.com
۶۱۳)۸۵۰-۴۹۲۹