For more than a month, the whole world has forgotten about the coronavirus. All eyes are on “the war between Russia and Ukraine”.
We follow the news of a people trying to flee this war by all possible means. We have seen our countries repatriate their respective citizens. Other countries are opening their doors to these people fleeing war without visas or conditions to provide them with the security and comfort they need.
Canada has also opened its doors to Ukrainians. In March, the Canadian government announced an extensive immigration program for Ukrainian refugees.
Body and soul, we stand together. At the same time, we also think of people like us who sought refuge in Canada. Yes, thousands of us are undocumented, without status, without dignity, without rights. We — the undocumented — are already on Canadian soil, marginalized or rather forgotten.
Is the reason we aren’t regularized because we aren’t fair-haired or blue-eyed — like those non-Ukrainian refugees struggling to flee Ukraine? That we don’t fit in with the geopolitical interests of Canada and its NATO allies? Or that some cynics prioritize political interests over human lives?
We are in favor of the regularization of these new people and refugees. However, we expect the government to be fair and also think of the people already here who do not have status.
We have also left our countries as a result of imperial wars, violence, poverty and obstacles to our freedoms and our survival. Remember that we are integrated here. We’ve been living here for years. We work across industries and haven’t had the luxury of shutting down during the pandemic — despite the danger. The “labour shortage” could be solved quite simply with people already on Canadian soil: us. Or, you prefer to force us to remain undocumented, undeclared workers, easy to exploit.
We demand fairness. We are also human. We live in precariousness and vulnerability with parents and children. We have few means to try to live with dignity.
We want a chance to live without fear here at home. We call for a regularization program for all of us. It is the only dignified and humane solution.