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the people welcoming Suaad at Pearson Int. this past Saturday sang the Somali national anthem when they greeted her as herds of media cameras swarmed around... not that there's anything wrong with embracing Somali national identity......however, from a critical point of view by those who are not Somalis... what sorta message are Somalis sending to outside observers in this instance when the central crisis in all of this is the "Canadian" identity?

Zulaika,

Your country socks at protecting its Somali Canadians. So who gives a damn about what the public think ?

abdi,

actually the public overwhelming supports Suad and she has become a media darling...they are taking up her case and stickin' it to the evil Harper Gov.....her plight has now unearthed other cases of Canadian officials abuse/neglect of Somali's abroad.

Zulaika,

Too little too late. Anywayz, doesn't Canada have freedom of expression ? So what difference does it make if they sing the Somali anthem ?


Somali-Canadians feel harassed in Kenya: activists


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Hussein Adani said the last time he was in Kenya he had to bribe immigrant officials with $50 to get out of the country, even though he had a valid Canadian passport.
Hussein Adani said the last time he was in Kenya he had to bribe immigrant officials with $50 to get out of the country, even though he had a valid Canadian passport. (CBC)
Somali-Canadians are often singled out by border and immigration officials in Kenya as vulnerable people from a wealthy country who are perfect for a shakedown, community activists say.

"And they're constantly asked for bribes," said Ahmed Hussen of the Canadian Somali Congress. "If they refuse, they run the risk of having the same ordeal as Suaad Hagi Mohamud."

The Kenyan border issue gained national attention following the release by Kenya of Mohamud, the Toronto woman who faced criminal charges in the East African nation and deportation to her former native Somalia after Kenyan immigration officials —with Canada's consent — charged her with identity theft.

Mohamud, 31, was trying to return to Toronto in May after visiting her mother in Kenya. But immigration officials there said the photo on her Canadian passport didn't look like her and threw her in jail. Canadian consular officials agreed and urged Kenyan officials to prosecute her for allegedly using another person's passport and being in the country illegally.

Her case was dismissed on Friday and she was released and repatriated to Toronto on Saturday only after a DNA test proved her identity.

"This is not an isolated case," said Osman Ali of the Somali-Canadian Association of Etobicoke. "Many, many cases like this are happening. People are frustrated … afraid to travel with their own Canadian passport."

Toronto restaurant owner Hussein Adani, who is originally from Somalia, said the last time he was in Kenya he had to bribe immigrant officials with $50 to get out of the country even though he had a valid Canadian passport.

"Travelling to Kenya as a Somali, you are not Canadian," he said. "When they see you, they judge your colour, they don't see your passport."

The Canadian Arab Federation said many people don't trust Ottawa to protect them when they're overseas.

"Who will be next?" asked Mohamed Boudjenane, CAF's executive director. "I think as a Canadian we should be very shocked and we should be very revolted when our government is treating between its citizens differently."
Border corruption

Human rights lawyer Darren Thorne said Canadian consular officials know all about Kenyan border corruption.

"Our consular officials, who tend to be very good by and large. are well aware of these circumstances," he said. "They have more experience with this than anyone else. They have seen this before from Canadians who have come through."

The Somali-Canadian Association of Etobicoke is calling on the federal government to hold an inquiry and to compensate Mohamud for her three-month ordeal.

"The Canadian government has to send a clear message that all Canadians are equal and should be treated equally," Ali said.

Both Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said they have asked their departments to review Mohamud's case to determine what went wrong, but they didn't indicate when the reviews would be completed or whether they will be made public.

Source: CBC, August 18, 2009

NAlia,

Who are you calling Zoomalis ?

And what use is the Canadian passport if you are detained, arrested and humiliated ? If she had her somali passport, she wouldn't have been as humiliated

Nope, Nalia, she would have paid a bribe and saved herself

Its the stupid Canadians who assume only whites are real Canadians not like you

abdi,

i think you're losing the point here...instead of just crying foul..like u seem to be doing..i am saying pay close attention to the vantage points....there's a golden opportunity to protest the inadequacy of the "current" Canadian Gov with ample support from a very powerful tool(the media/public)....further isolating yourself by sticking to your original identity with little regard for the one in question seems unwise in my opinion.

Zulaika,

Saud is aiming to get a settlement from the Canadian government. She can not control what her supporters say or do. Once she gets it, she will not pursue Harper and will call it a day.

As for the media, they will forget about this issue in a few days. It will blow over.

Im as patriotic a Canadain as you can get, and I have to agree with Abdi here. Harper only spoke out a few days ago because of the scandal. Fuck him, and fuck the anthem. If'n I was an immigrant and received such shoddy treatment, you'd never hear the end of it! That being said, Su is gonna be a multi millionaire.

She should have used her Somali passport, because she could have gotten little more respect then with that worthless Canadian passport.


By the way did she have lip surgery? Because that is one of the reasons she was questioned. And after careful look her lips look little puffy.

what was the point of singing somali national anthem,,that women suaado she was crying for three months that she is canadian an not somali..

AbdiWahab252 wrote:
Nope, Nalia, she would have paid a bribe and saved herself

:

Always looking the easy way out huh?



Zuli,

Suad has no control of what other Maryooley did..................................as for the ones singing the national antyhem, they were just taken over by emotions and I believe it was something on the spur of the moment and that was the last u will hear