June 26: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
On Thursday June 26, 2003 CCVT presented an evening of solidarity with survivors of torture and war in conjunction with the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. As always, it was a wonderful event with special guests and speakers representing the refugee rights community in all its diversity and strength.
As you know, every year on June 26 we hold a community event to honour the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Over the past few years, we've held a cultural evening that is celebratory of the strengths of survivors. This year, CCVT did something a little different in light of the current world situation. We held the cultural event in the evening, but we also did a more reflective and somber public education piece to bring home some of the realities of torture to the public at large.
In this spirit, CCVT booked the Rotunda at Metro Hall as well as one of the meeting rooms on the morning of June 26. CCVT presented a panel discussion on the intersections of war, terrorism and torture (or how war and terrorism can - and does - create opportunities and/or space for torture to occur). Professionally facilitated by Dr. Judith Pilowsky, a psychologist and member of CCVT's Health Committee, we invited four panelists to participate (to read their presentations, just click on the links below):
Nancy Elliot, immigration lawyer, member of CCVT's Legal Committee and oversees inland applications and hearings at the IRB. Nancy spoke about Canada's Refugee Determination System.
Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, member of Amnesty International for 15 years, lawyer with an M.A. in International Human Rights Law, taught International Human Rights at Osgoode Hall Law School and is affiliated with the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University. He spoke about the need for an absolute prohibition of torture.
Dr. Joanna Santa Barbara, child psychiatrist, member of the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University, works with Croatian and Afghan war affected children, is a past president of Physicians for Global Survival and recently received the Order of Ontario for her work in peace studies. She spoke about helping children affected by war, terrorism and torture.
Tarek Fatah, journalist and social activist who has worked extensively with grassroots organizations. He is also the Chair of the Canadian Moslem Congress. He spoke about the intersections of war, terrorism and torture.
We were very happy to see that over 60 people came to the panel.
A second event was held at the Rotunda from 9-1.
We invited NGOs and community groups (FCJ Hamilton House, Romero House, Amnesty International, PEN Canada, UNHCR, Human Rights Watch and, of course, CCVT) to hold a display on torture. Our very own volunteer, Heather Lash, made special posters for this event, depicting some of the grim realities of the practice of torture. While we constantly balance ourselves between depicting what is true but not sensational, on this day, it was important to show how cruel and prevalent the practice is, and how no society was exempt. So a darker, more reflective and commemorative aspect was appropriate at this time.
The evening event was wonderfully MC'd by Dr. Rosemary Meier, a psychiatrist on CCVT's Health Committee. CCVT Chair Tina Lopes and Settlement Coordinator Teresa Dremetsikas graciously welcomed the attendees and delivered short speeches illustrating the significance of this day.
Our keynote speaker was the honourable Gar Knutson, Secretary of State, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
We were also pleased to have as a second guest speaker Lewis Chan, Assistant Deputy Chair, Ontario Region, Immigration and Refugee Board.
The evening was intimate and familiar: most, if not all, participants were connected to CCVT either as counsellor, ESL teacher, client or volunteer. The first performance was a Bird Dance created by Afsaneh Shafai. During the past decade that Afsaneh Shafai has been with CCVT, she has heard many heart breaking stories and witnessed human suffering and but she has always seen through and beyond these conditions. She has believed in and connected with the human's ability to survive. Afsaneh dedicated this dance to CCVT and its clients. It spoke of freedom, of the highs and joys of life and the ability and strength to survive the lows of life.
The Son Roberts Blues Band "rocked", as one of our Board members put it. They are professionals in the music business who have come together with their instruments for the pure joy of making music. They include: Wayne "Son" Roberts, David Burt (our very own ESL teacher at CCVT), Ed Roth, David Boire, Yuri Gorbachew and John Crosbie.
Warm and touching messages were given by Dr. Singh, a client and Jawid Noor, a CCVT Volunteer.
Somali songs were performed by Kiin Ibrahim, a professional singer,
and Iran was represented by the music of Mohsen Jamal and Shahla Etemadzadeh.
The CCVT Choir, comprised of Munni Subhani's Level 3 class sang songs in 9 languages!
And the evening wrapped up with a dance performance by Munni Subhani, Afsaneh Shafai and Nazlije Isufaj, where each did a short piece traditional to their cultures, Bangladeshi, Azeri and Kosovar, respectively. What was so wonderful about this last performance was that audience members joined in,
so we had a big dance party!
