Syed Hussan

Those that fight it are called terrorists, and those that survive it are called criminals.

hussan — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 02:30:32 +0000

Edited text of my speech from C-51 can't stop us forum in Toronto. Videos of the other, far more amazing, talks from the forum will be up shortly.

The purpose of C-51 and all of these others laws, they say, is to defend Canada.

But what is Canada? Is it the lush land that feeds us and our families? The water that quenches our thirst? The air that watches over us or the stories that keep us together? Is it the communities of people that hold on to each other, hold on tight, and continue?

For if that is Canada, than I love Canada. You love Canada. A love that forces us to ask questions, make amends. To find new places of realization and truths, to re-build new worlds, better worlds, worlds that fit all of our broken selves.

A few more words about Bill C-51 – a discussion blog for organizers and activists

hussan — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:49:47 +0000

This blog doesn’t detail what’s wrong with Bill C-51, for that read this, and this.

Coverage of Amanda Lang-RBC fails to acknowledge worker abuse

rabble staff — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:45:25 +0000

The coverage of the Amanda Lang-RBC sage is missing a big component: temporary foreign worker abuse or outsourcing practices.

What's missing from the coverage of the Amanda Lang-RBC saga?

hussan — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:32:26 +0000

News of CBC anchor Amanda Lang trying to "kill" a CBC story on RBC hiring of foreign workers back in 2013 has hit the airwaves. Initially revealed on Jesse Brown's Canadaland, the story is now being covered in many mainstream media outlets.

Four reasons why shutting down TFWP is no solution

rabble staff — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 21:39:36 +0000

At a time when all provinces are cutting resources from departments responsible for keeping corporations in check, it's not about abolishing the TFWP, it's about ensuring labour protection for all.

Four reasons why shutting down TFWP is no solution to migrant worker abuse

hussan — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 15:14:04 +0000

(Blog post by the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change)

There has been massive media attention on the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) in the last few weeks. Mainstream and social media is full of analysis and solutions. Some critics and commentators insist that the only appropriate way forward is shutting down the low-skilled temporary foreign worker program. They are wrong.

I got my permanent residency, and it's complicated.

hussan — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 06:59:31 +0000

This is a bit longer than a tweet, and more personal than I intended it to be. I am writing it as an update to everyone that has supported me in a million different ways in the last seven years, and more importantly in the hopes that in asking personal questions, we can come up with collective answers. I’d appreciate not receiving a wave of congratulations, though if this strikes you as meaningful, please share with others, and join me at this rally against immigration enforcement on Friday, February 28, 2014.

Life and Death: Waljis, Migrant Strike and Political Will

hussan — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:14:48 +0000

Mohamed, Shyroz and Qyzra Walji are dead. The police call it a homicide-suicide. Their friends and families know different. At a vigil held for the family, Qyzra Walji’s teacher for five years, Nichole Wardyce insisted “I have no doubt that if Qyzra and her family had been granted their Canadian citizenship, they would still be here, and Qyzra would have continued being a leader and a voice for others with disabilities."

Life and Death. Wajis, Migrant Strike and Political Will

hussan — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:13:59 +0000

Original article at http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/hussan/2013/11/life-and-death-waljis-migrant-strike-and-political-will

Quebec bans symbols but all of Canada bans migrants

hussan — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 18:27:52 +0000

Thousands are outraged at the Parti Quebecois charter of values -- a charter that proposes to prohibit the wearing of religious symbols by public employees.

Open letter to David Suzuki: Canada's immigration policy is 'disgusting' but not because Canada is 'full'

hussan — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 21:39:38 +0000

Dear Grandfather Suzuki,

I was raised to treat my elders with respect, and to call them with their appropriate titles, so I hope you will let me call you Grandfather.

Don't believe the hype! RBC layoffs not about foreigners vs. Canadians

rabble staff — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:05:56 +0000

Monday, April 8, 2013

Once again the temporary foreign worker program has erupted in controversy where it is being used to pit workers against each other.

News reports point out that the Royal Bank of Canada has decided to move its information technology department abroad. To do so, it has brought in temporary workers from India that will learn the ropes from their Canadian counterparts. Following this training, the Canadian workers will be laid off, and the Indian workers will transition the IT department to India and return there.

The politics of fear, the necessity of hope

hussan — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:32:08 +0000

I ran into Silvio yesterday in the subway. I hadn't seen him in two years and he didn't look good. His eyes were red, his cheeks flushed, and his dirt encased hands were shaking.

"It's just so hard with the kids you know, never knowing what will happen next" he said.

His wife had called him at work. She had heard about the immigration raids in Vancouver, and had demanded that he leave his job and get home. She herself was going to pick up the kids from school.

Tom Flanagan's firing not all it seems.

hussan — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:40:40 +0000

Hey All .. I've taken this down for now. Had too many friends write to me about it - and I feel like those conversations are better had in person with more time than emails and the like.

Reflecting on racisms

hussan — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:20:09 +0000

A few months ago now I was in court for another one of Mohammad Mahjoub’s court hearings, another day in the 12-year trauma he’s had to bear, living in indefinite detention without being charged. On the witness stand was Egyptian lawyer Magdy Salem, who had spent nearly 20 years in Mubarak’s jail and had taught himself law, recently released and speaking from Cairo via video link and through an interpreter. To accommodate the time difference the federal court was unusually sitting on a Sunday and starting at 7 a.m., and it seemed everyone’s nerves were fraught.