Things slowed down considerably with this campaign after the second hunger strike was dropped. Focus shifted away from the public campaign and towards securing legal representation. We apologize for the lack of updates on the site as well as on our social media sites. The campaign is not over, as many of the migrants at the NDC still need support!

Sergio, Sandro and Jesus are still being held at the Niagara Detention Centre. We secured representation for Sandro’s immigration case, he was the only one to be denied legal aid, and only have an outstanding bill of $70 left to cover the travel costs of his lawyer. If you would like to help cover that cost you can paypal to our email address nmhssn2011@gmail.com or email us at the address to arrange another form of payment. They all still have representation. Some of them have had issues with legal aid not releasing and recognizing new representation, but they do have representation. There may also be some more legal costs down the road that need funds. We will keep you posted on that.

Unfortunately, this update today comes with some very sad news. Immediately after serving time for criminal charges relating to using false documents at the border Ibrahim Ali Farah was taken from the Niagara Detention Centre and sent back to the United States. Ibrahim had fled the US fearing retaliation as he was witness to a murder to and was forced to testify. Immigration refused to hear his claim. We are trying to find out exactly where Ibrahim has been sent and what support is needed. This marks the second loss as Victor Moses was similarly deported immediately after his criminal charges relating to false documentation was over.

For those who have supported and followed this campaign, we thank you! The group of concerned citizens in Niagara who have organized around this issue are intent on continuing their support for those who are marginalized and criminalized by a racist colonial state. They are moving this campaign over to the intersectionality and anti-oppression based group, The Live Free Collective, in order to sustain and build our capacity to provide support in the Niagara Region. We urge people to like their page and familiarize themselves with their website. We will continue to update our social media sites/websites that exists until this case is over, but in the future updates will come through the LFC.

In Solidarity,

The $1200 retainer has been paid for and $80 of the $150 travel expenses has been paid for. That means we only need another $70!

If anyone would like to top us up please paypal to nmhssn2011@gmail.com or get in touch for an email money transfer.

Sandro is very appreciative and he had his hearing on the 31st of Jan. We have yet to hear back from his lawyer.

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, there are too many people to thank!

The fundraiser on December 28th managed to raise $525! Thank you everyone who came out/donated to the campaign.

However, we still need to keep pushing!

Based on the funds raised so far ($917), there is a required $283 to raise before January 31st. 

The lawyer fees for ONE man-for Sandro’s lawyer are $1,200 plus traveling expenses.

Please share this information with others or donate. We need your help. As you can imagine, turning these men’s imprisonment into freedom is something attainable with community support. No amount is too small.

Our PayPal account

Contact us at Gmail- nmhssn2011@gmail.com

“Nader is a 46 year old Iranian refugee who had been detained and imprisoned by Canadian Border Services Agency since 2005. Nader spent over SIX years behind bars, without any substantive charges, under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Act. His length of detention has been unprecedented in Canada and Nader had been on a seven-week hunger strike to protest his ongoing, essentially indefinite detention.”

“Given the length of time that Nader was in detention, we know that his release was a direct result of the community organizing and pressure that was slowly building around this situation over the past six weeks…We are inspired by the courage and steadfastness of Nader, who reached out and spoke out despite the fear of further punishment behind bars. Despite a system that silences refugees and forces migrants to remain subservient, we know that when we fight together we can break these chains. In the context of increasing detentions and deportations facilitating prison expansion and a government that insists on treating racialized migrants as expendable commodities, we re-affirm dignity and self-determination in the movement for migrant justice.”

-Taken from No One is Illegal Vancouver

Read the full article HERE

No one is free when others are oppressed…

Sergio, Sandro, Jesus and Ibrahim have decided to end their rotational strike. They feared that they would be held in segregation for the duration of the strike and decided to drop the strike in hopes of being moved back to the dorms (they have since been moved.) They still need support in as far as getting medical attention for injuries sustained at the NDC, as well as pressuring Immigration for due process and transfer to Toronto. Keep up the emails/calls to Richard Comerford! We also now shift our priorities to fundraising to help with legal costs. Stay tuned.

Today is my third strike day on a rotational four day cycle that matches the hunger strike campaign taken up by Sergio Puerto, Sandro Philippe, Jesus Galban and Ibrahim Ali Farah at the Niagara Detention Centre. That means every fourth day I do a solidarity 24 hour hunger strike to mirror theirs (Sergio’s specifically).

I’ve been involved with their support since December 3rd and this month has basically been an on going crash course in Immigration Law. I’ve been to the Detention Centre close to ten times this month and met with everyone involved in the strike – even Victor Moses who was taken by Immigration prior to this latest rotational (Dec 11th.) The constant fear of deportation or detention (for no criminal charge), the lack of access to legal consultation and the ways in which the system is stacked against migrants at every single level is unbearable. Each have their share of injustice – Sergio was teaching Spanish classes at a local community centre before being picked up (he has promised to teach me Spanish when he gets out), Jesus fell 8 feet to the ground off a bunk during their first strike and has been denied medical attention ever since, Sandro was brought in on June 26, 2011 and with no outside contacts we have had to scramble to try and get winter clothing in to him for court dates (the NDC has twice refused to accept a sweater for him.) No one deserves to be treated this way.

Today I got a christmas card from Sergio and from Sandro. I am constantly blown away by their ability to stay calm and focused throughout a process that is so clearly oppressive and unjust. Those cards are just another reminder to me of my privilege and my responsibility.

For anyone wishing to join the support group you can email nmhssn2011@gmail.com. We are also looking for people (anyone) to sign our support petition and for people to join our call-in/email campaign to the office of Richard Comerford – Regional Director of Immigration – Richard.Comerford@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca / 905-994-6000, as well as the Niagara Detention Centre 905-227-6321.

For people who are local, tomorrow (Tuesday December 20th) there will be a demonstration out front of the Niagara Detention Centre from 1-2PM.

We also have a fundraiser planned for Wendesday December 28th at Rise Above (120 St. Paul St. – St. Catharines, On)

Last, but not least, we now have a paypal set up for those who wish to donate to the support fund. 

***-Dylan Powell on his solidarity with the Detainees***

If you would like to know more, get involved in different capacities, or pass the message along to interest groups, friends, family, please come to the emergency meeting we are having. Thursday, December 15, 6:30 p.m at the OPIRG Downtown Infoshop-21 King Street, St. Catharines, ON. 

The collective meeting is open to anyone wishing to attend. Please be courteous to consensus decision making as it is a collective process will be using to come up with campaign strategies and requires the input of everyone attending. No contribution is too little!