Canada: "Don't Send Me Back to Malaysia," Gay Man Pleads

From the Montreal Gazette

Friday » March 7 » 2008
 
Don't send me back to Malaysia, gay man pleads

Montrealer scheduled to be deported today fears he will be imprisoned in homeland

ELIZABETH THOMPSON
The Gazette

Thursday, March 06, 2008

This case has triggered an uproar on Parliament Hill. Check Elizabeth Thompson's blog to find out more about it.

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His voice cracking and his eyes filling with tears, Montreal resident Kulenthiran Amirthalingam made a last-ditch effort yesterday to avoid being deported today to his native Malaysia, saying he fears he will be thrown in prison simply because he is gay.

But his trek through a driving snowstorm to Ottawa in a bid to persuade Immigration Minister Diane Finley to grant him a ministerial certificate to allow him to stay in Canada appears to have been for naught.

An Immigration Department spokesperson simply said people are expected to leave once their options have run their course.

Finley's office didn't return a phone call from The Gazette.

Amirthalingam's case highlights what some say is an emerging trend by homosexuals who face imprisonment or danger in their home countries to claim refugee status in Canada.

Amirthalingam said he first arrived in Canada in July 2002, then applied for refugee status in January 2003 after he returned to his home country on a visit only to be harassed by the family of his former lover and thrown into jail.

"For five days, I was physically, verbally, sexually harassed by the police there," Amirthalingam told reporters.

His refugee claim was rejected, however, on the ground the panel hearing his claim did not believe it was credible.

Outremont MP Thomas Mulcair of the New Democratic Party called on Finley yesterday to allow Amirthalingam to remain on humane and compassionate grounds. Amirthalingam was learning French and volunteering with local community groups, he noted.

"In Parliament, despite the profound differences that sometimes exist on issues involving our society or the economy, there are some human values that unite us. And stopping somebody from being deported to face imprisonment and possibly torture, not for anything he has done but because of who he is, goes against Canadian values," Mulcair said, a tremor in his voice.

In addition to the problems Amirthalingam faces because of his homosexuality, he is diabetic, has a heart condition and is blind in one eye, Mulcair added.

Mulcair wrote a letter to Finley last week and received a verbal response Monday in which her office refused even to consider the request not to deport Amirthalingam.

Amnesty International and Montreal lawyer Julius Grey have also written letters to Finley, asking her to use her ministerial powers to stop the planned deportation.

In its travel report for Malaysia, the Canadian government warns Canadians that homosexuality is against the law in that country.

"Homosexuality is illegal," the department's website says.

"Convicted offenders may face lengthy jail sentences and fines."

Matthew McLauchlin, co-chairman of the NDP's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender positive action committee, said Amirthalingam's case illustrates an emerging trend in refugee issues and highlights the shortcomings in Canada's refugee system in evaluating their cases.

"There is a young man in Toronto who was told the judge didn't think he was gay because he wasn't having sex at age 14 when he was living non-status with Seventh-day Adventists," McLauchlin said.

"There have been women told they couldn't be lesbian because they have long hair and showed up for the interviews in high heels.

"These people have no training whatsoever in how to deal with these issues."

There were an estimated 2,000 gay and lesbian refugee claimants in 2004, McLauchlin said.

Immigration and Refugee Board officials did not return a phone call from The Gazette.