The debate is apparently raging in Canada about whether that country will take some of the Uighers (Uyghurs), Chinese Muslims, detained now at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Judy told you the other day about the Canadian interest. It is increasingly unclear if that is government interest or just leftwing activists wishful thinking.
Here is an article from Canada.com (CanWest News Service) containing a little bit of biographical information on one of those Muslims seeking asylum.
China has unsuccessfully pressed the U.S. to repatriate the Uyghurs, saying that they are terrorists who are seeking an independent Muslim homeland in the northwestern part of the country.
The only refugee applicant whose name has been revealed is Anvar (Ali) Hassan, a dissident who fled China to live in Afghanistan in 2001. He was later caught in the hills of Pakistan and handed over to the U.S.
Hassan contends he will be tortured if he is forced to return to China, where authorities assert that the Uyghurs detained at Guantanamo were fighting with the Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
[….]
A summary of Hassan’s case, supplied by his lawyers, says that he admitted to military training in Afghanistan, but that his motivation was “to fight the oppressive Chinese government.”
He says that he was tortured and beaten in prison in China in 1999, where he was held for one month just for being Uyghur.
No decision has been made on any of those Gitmo guys going to Canada.
There are also several other Guantanamo detainees eyeing Canada for settlement and the federal government has been adamant it will not accept anyone believed to be a threat to the security of Canada.
By the way, I am assuming Canada treats asylum seekers in a similar fashion as we do in the US. They are accorded all the privileges that refugees receive: subsidized housing, food stamps, a caseworker, health care, and English language instruction.
What do you think the chances are that Hassan will settle down in Canada with a wife, a job and a house with a picket fence?