Friday, July 30,
1999 Some refugee claimants removed from
B.C. base
Move follows protest
The Canadian Press
ESQUIMALT, B.C. - Immigration officials transferred several
illegal Chinese immigrants yesterday from a military base where they
have been under guard for more than a week.
Authorities would not reveal how many of the refugee claimants
were removed, or exactly why.
But the move came the day after some of the 123-member group
staged a protest.
"At this time we're not commenting on where they've been
transferred to or reasons, other than security measures as well as .
. . logistical challenges," said Lois Reimer, a department
spokeswoman.
Lorna Tessier, an Immigration official who has been on site at
CFB Esquimalt, said the refugee claimants were transferred for two
reasons.
"It's a lot of people to treat at one time and [the transfer]
takes the pressure off this site," she said.
The transfer came the day after a lockdown at the military
gymnasium where the migrants are being detained.
Several refused to eat lunch Wednesday to protest the immigration
process, officials said.
"Everything went very calmly [Wednesday] night, there were no
problems," Ms. Tessier said.
"We would like to keep it that way so we felt for security
reasons this was the best decision."
The military base was to house the detainees only until next
Wednesday.
"This is obviously not a detention facility, so it's not the
ideal facility to take on this type of situation," Ms. Tessier said
of the gymnasium, which is surrounded by a temporary barbed wire
fence and guarded by RCMP officers.
"Eventually all of them have to be moved anyway."
Details won't be released until the transfer is complete,
authorities said.
The 123 refugee claimants were found in the filthy hold of a
cargo ship off the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island on July 20.
They spent 38 days crossing the ocean in the decrepit vessel,
with no toilets and no potable water.
There are 115 Chinese nationals still in custody. Eight juveniles
were transferred into the care of the provincial Ministry for
Children and Families on Wednesday.
Three refugee claimants originally believed to be juveniles --
under 18 according to the Immigration Act -- were later believed to
be older. Two others are among 19 people suspected of being involved
in the human smuggling operation.
The teens have been placed in a group home.
"We're going to explore if there's any possibilities to see if
repatriation to their families in China is a potential option," said
Mike Corbeil, deputy minister of children and families.
"They would have to withdraw their refugee claims for that to
happen."
They could also be placed in Chinese foster homes.
Mr. Corbeil said Mandarin-speaking social workers and translators
are still trying to sort out who the teens are and how they came to
be aboard the ship.
The teens are not deemed a high risk to disappear and are not
under strict supervision, he said.
Detention review hearings to decide whether the refugee claimants
will be held in custody another seven days are expected to wrap up
today.
The hearings, already bogged down by
the need for translation during the proceedings, were further
delayed by the Wednesday protest.
Ms. Reimer said the would-be immigrants were protesting because
they did not understand the refugee-claim process.
"They said they weren't clear on the process," Ms. Reimer said.
"They had some concerns about it."
All of the 25 adults brought before Immigration and Refugee Board
adjudicators Tuesday and Wednesday were ordered detained further.
Immigration authorities say they are not sure of the identities
of the refugee claimants, who arrived without any documentation.
Another detention review must be completed within seven days.
After they confirm the identities of the claimants, officials can
seek further detention if they believe any of the claimants are a
threat to public safety or are likely not to show up for future
immigration proceedings.
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