Friends/family, I ask for your support in two ways. I ask that you take the time to read about a young friend of mine who faces deportation and if it happens, there is a strong probability of her never being able to return. She has made a great life here in Winnipeg and contributes to our community in many ways. I hope you will join me in allowing your name to stand as a signature on the petition we are circulating which states:

"We ask that Sange be allowed to stay in Canada."

I also hope you will then forward this to your e-friends so that we can get as much support as possible.

Thanks for reading her story... and if you have questions or concerns, let me know.

ruth.naomi.livingston@gmail.com

Sange is a Malaysian journalist who came to Canada in 2009 and applied for refugee status. The basis of her claim is that she is a minority East Indian woman of Jewish descent from Malaysia. Malaysia is not only predominantly Muslim but is also an anti-Semitic country. When she applied for refugee status, she was asked why she chose to come to Canada and not anywhere else. It is because her mother is here in Winnipeg. Sange’s mother received her Canadian citizenship about 5 years ago. She is alone in Canada and Sange is her only family here. Her mother also suffers from a debilitating illness and Sange has been instrumental in her recovery process and in her everyday maintenance.

During her almost four years in Canada, Sange has worked at the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society and volunteered in several other organizations. She has also been involved in activities at Temple Shalom, a synagogue in Winnipeg.  The Immigration Refugee Board agrees that she is credible in her testimony although they denied her claim.  They have concluded that Sange’s life will not be at risk if she were to return to Malaysia because so far, she has only suffered persecution and unusual treatment but has not been “tortured”. They have failed to realize that the reason she has not been physically harmed is because her family has kept their Jewish roots a secret as they know the risk they would face. But it is not a secret now that Sange has applied for Refugee Status and her activities with the Jewish community have been highlighted on websites and social media pages.

According to Robert Fulford in the National Post on October 6, 2012, “Malaysia has become an example of a phenomenon called ‘Anti-Semitism without Jews.’ Last March, for instance, the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department sent out an official sermon to be read in all mosques, stating that ‘Muslims must understand Jews are the main enemy to Muslims as proven by their egotistical behaviour and murders performed by them’...In Kuala Lumpur, it’s routine to blame the Jews for everything from economic failures to the bad press Malaysia gets in foreign (‘Jewish-owned’) newspapers.”

 If Sange is sent back to Malaysia, her passport will be impounded and she will be held for questioning and face a risk of imprisonment and torture because she made a Refugee Claim and is of Jewish descent. She will not be able to apply for any Permanent Residence Program in Canada without her passport. She will also not be able to flee to any other country. Her future in Malaysia will be very bleak, if she has one at all.

Sange has sent an application to the Federal Court to appeal her case. If there is any way that she can stay in Canada and apply for Permanent Residence while here, it would be really helpful.  Canadian Immigration currently has her passport and they will only return her documents to the Malaysian Immigration Officers when she returns to Malaysia, which makes it impossible for her to seek refuge in any other country, if her appeal to stay in Canada is refused. We ask that you read the articles below if you need confirmation of the nature of her claims and send a note via [email protected] authorizing your name and contact info on the *petition we are circulating. Letters of support are also most welcome.

http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/full-comment/blog.html?b=fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/10/06/robert-fulford-anti-semitism-without-jews-in-malaysia

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/03/malaysia-kuala-lumpurs-official-friday- sermon-says-jews-are-the-main-enemy-to-muslims.html  Ruth Livingston 204-794-3654 if you do not have access to email < [email protected]> 

 * “We the undersigned ask that Sange be allowed to stay in Canada.”