Fenians, as you may or may not recall, were Irish "terrorists" from the 19th century who were reviled because they "bred like rabbits", were violent religious fanatics (Catholics) and a nation of drunkards.
"Like many of you I was shocked to hear of the recent Fenian attacks on Fort Erie. How can our government allow Irish immigrants to flow into this United Province of Canada while we continue to be terrorized by Fenian religious zealots? Every Sunday in Catholic churches across the land, radical preachers are whipping their flocks into a cataclysmic frenzy, urging them to cram their Nicene orthodoxy down our throats three different ways. On every ship coming into Montreal or Halifax, hidden among the malnourished, diseased Irish there are sure to be Fenian terrorists ready to slit your throat at the first opportunity. This needs to stop now.
We all know that the Irish are a bunch of uneducated, colonial savages with a primitive religion. How will our women and children be safe while hoards of drunken Irish flow into our cities and roam the streets? Meanwhile they breed like rabbits, all part of their plan of Papist domination. It is a scientific fact that if Irish immigration continues apace Canada will be a Catholic state by 1910. Enjoy having your wine with communion, because that's all about to end. And if we let the Irish in, who's next - Ukrainians? Chinese? Musalmen?
It is our sacred duty to preserve Canadian values now, before it's too late. In 150 years your children's children will look back and know that you did the right thing.
Be sure to share this leaflet with all your friends (or at least those of them who can read... and you can probably skip the women, not like they can vote anyways). Say yes to Canada staying Canadian. Say no to Irish immigrants!
Rev. John Strachan,
York
June 1866"
Note: "Musalmen" is an older derogatory way of saying "Muslim". So evidently if we are still worried about "Musalmen" then we really have not progressed much in the last 150 years.
It should also be noted that Irish slavery (that being the slavery of Irish people by the British) only ended in 1833 in Britain and in the East Indies in 1843, so when the above letter was written in 1866 many Irish were still considered to be "less than human" by many people in Britain and America. The history of Irish slavery isn't often spoken of, but it is the reason why many African-Americans also have mixed Irish blood.
African slaves were more expensive during the 1600s (50 sterling silver) whereas Irish slaves were cheap (5 sterling) because they might run away and gain their freedom somehow. At the time a practice developed of breeding Irish women with African men to produce more expensive children slaves. The practice not only allowed the masters to make more money, but also to ensure that if the Irish women ever gained their freedom they would stick around for the sake of their children - which being mixed race, were considered to be less likely to ever be emancipated.
The American Emancipation Proclamation in 1862-63 meant that suddenly everyone was free, Irish slaves and African slaves, and the slave masters (in the southern states where slavery was still practiced) were none too pleased about it. The American Civil War (1861 to 1865) happened around the same time, and thus the two events are often considered to be a war about slavery - although this is hardly the only reason. The main reason was because the southern states wanted to form their own country and live independently with their own rules (something Texas to this day continues to claim it wants to do).
During it all many Irish freed slaves went north, settling in Chicago, Boston and other locations now famous for its Irish heritage. Many African freed slaves also went north, some to Canada, and others to various locations where they felt more welcome.
Fast forward to 2016.
Canada.
One of the most welcoming countries in the world. Arguably the least racist, more open minded. It is often called the best country in the world. A veritable Mecca of diversity of races, religions and ethnicities.
But that doesn't mean we don't have mean people who say awful things about immigrants or refugees. Just look at the Conservative Party of Canada and you know how blatantly racist they are, even if they won't always admit it.
But it really is no surprise that Canada is the #1 choice for many refugees to come to. Free education, free health care, an open and free democracy that 'on paper at least' is accepting of immigrants of all nationalities and has such a great reputation internationally.
Unfortunately our reputation wasn't enough to save Aylan Kurdi, the little boy whose parents applied to immigrate to Canada as refugees. Chris Alexander, the Minister of Immigration under the 2015 Conservative Party of Canada personally vetoed the family's application to Canada. Why? Because the Conservative Party of Canada is racist. It is as simple as that. Chris Alexander is a racist. Just one of many in the Conservative Party.
New Democrat MP Fin Donnelly, personally delivered a letter to Minister Chris Alexander asking for his help from his office for young Alan Kurdi and his family, and Chris Alexander vetoed the idea, and later denied ever receiving an application even though all the paper work was handed in and he had received a personal letter from a fellow MP requesting the admission of the family to Canada.
And so Alan Kurdi took his young son on a dangerous boat trip to Greece, trying to make his way towards Germany, their 2nd choice to immigrate to, and desperately trying to get there. But the boat capsized and many refugees drowned, including the boy, Aylan Kurdi, below.
And we should note their last name: Kurdi. The Kurds were NATO's allies during the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, and continue to be our allies during the war with ISIL in Syria. Now admittedly that is reading into the name quite a bit, but it seems silly that would we deny entry to Canada to people who are:
A. Not our enemy.
B. Our allies which fought alongside us in various wars.
I will give another example:
During the Afghanistan War the USA offered Green Cards to Afghan translators and guides to help American troops during the occupation of Afghanistan. They fought alongside the troops, translated for them, kept them alive in dangerous situations, put themselves at risk, and for what?
It took the U.S. government YEARS to process and finally issue Green Cards to the thousands of translators and guides who assisted them during that war. Many of them NEVER even got their Green Card and gave up on ever getting it because the American government gave them a ridiculous bureaucratic runaround of forms to fill out in order to make it practically impossible for them to ever become American citizens.
What this really shows is the lengths governments (and the people in power) will go to in order to make it as hard as possible to move to a country and become a citizen there.
And Canada isn't much better. We are actually worse. Canada is the HARDEST country in the world to immigrate to. Worse than the USA.
But we do have loopholes. eg. If you are rich, Canada will let you in if you are promising to bring your money to Canada and start a business. So really what that means is anyone with lots of money can immigrate to Canada, but people who are refugees - who need a country where they can be free and safe from war and violence - are left to die on the beaches of uncaring world.
And it doesn't matter whether you are Irish, African or Syrian. People need a country they can call home.
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