Martyr Shahbaz Bhatti
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6:30 pm
March 3, 2017
Woodbine Banquet Hall
30 Vice Regent Blvd
Toronto, ON
M9W 7A4
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Memorial Gala
March 3, 2017
SMALL TITLE
At present, there are over 4,000 Pakistani Christians refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand. They escaped Pakistan to avoid victimization however in Thailand they have once again become victims of severe persecution due to their illegal immigrant status. Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a formal national asylum framework. Therefore, the Pakistani Christians are not treated as refugees or asylum seekers, but as illegal immigrants. Also, Thailand will not grant asylum status to those declared as genuine refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In Thailand, identified as illegals, Pakistani Christians are prevented from working due to which many households lack basic necessities such as proper food or the necessary medical attention. There are also regular police crackdowns due to which these individuals live in constant fear. Terrified to venture outside, they padlock themselves in slums where there is a high risk of disease. If arrested, they can be jailed and/or fined severely. In jail, these educated professional men are stripped naked. Shackled with notorious murderers and rapists, they are forced to wear the orange uniform of criminals.
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Pakistani Refugees in Thailand
March 3, 2017
6:30 pm
Anyaa Faris
On October 25, 2015, a volunteer committee of International Christian Voice flew to Bangkok, Thailand to meet asylum seekers who have fled from Pakistan due to persecution. While in Thailand the ICV volunteers met Anyaa (Remsha) Faris, 16, who fled Pakistan with her parents and two younger brothers. Anyaa fled in order to escape their neighbour determined to convert her family to Islam and marry Anyaa. Terrified of daily death threats aimed at each member of the family, they escaped and fled to Thailand.
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While living in Thailand, the little savings the family had soon depleted. Aanya’s father found a job in a factory but within a few days of working, he sliced off three of his fingers due to the lack of safety repercussions in the factory. Due to the lack of financial resources and their refugee status, Mr. Faris did not get the necessary medical attention he needed. He then had three heart attacks and at the third heart attack he passed away leaving behind his wife and his three children. Until then, their father had been their protector and without their father, they became vulnerable to much greater victimization. Aanya, the eldest of the three children, has been forced to become the protector of the family. If this family is deported to Pakistan, they fear death because the neighbor who desired Aanya for a wife, is a powerful man in their neighborhood.
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Tickets
Pakistani Refugees in Thailand
At present, there are over 4,000 Pakistani Christians refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand. They escaped Pakistan to avoid victimization however in Thailand they have once again become victims of severe persecution due to their illegal immigrant status. Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a formal national asylum framework. Therefore, the Pakistani Christians are not treated as refugees or asylum seekers, but as illegal immigrants. Also, Thailand will not grant asylum status to those declared as genuine refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In Thailand, identified as illegals, Pakistani Christians are prevented from working due to which many households lack basic necessities such as proper food or the necessary medical attention. There are also regular police crackdowns due to which these individuals live in constant fear. Terrified to venture outside, they padlock themselves in slums where there is a high risk of disease. If arrested, they can be jailed and/or fined severely. In jail, these educated professional men are stripped naked. Shackled with notorious murderers and rapists, they are forced to wear the orange uniform of criminals.
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