The Deportation of Queen Nzinga

This May Immigration Canada passed down their decision to reject Wendy Maxwell Edwards' (AKA Queen Nzinga) application for permanent residence on Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds. Our fine sister Nzinga was deported in March, while her application was still pending

Stop Deportations

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This May Immigration Canada passed down their decision to reject Wendy Maxwell Edwards' (AKA Queen Nzinga) application for permanent residence on Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds. Our fine sister Nzinga was deported in March, while her application was still pending. It is nothing new that arbitrary bad faith, absurdity, and repression accompany the regulation of the movement of people by states, particularly at borders. Toronto Police snatched her during events for International Women's Day at Ryerson University, before deporting her nine days later. Nzinga's case gives us insight into some of the particularities of the on-going struggles for free movement, in her own words, "I knew it could happen but I never thought it would have happened on International Women's Day. It happening on this day made my arrest a very special event. However tortuous, it brought to the forefront the situation of non-status people in Canada."

Canada's practice of deporting people whose applications are still pending has many critics. The UN Committee Against Torture has highlighted the highly political nature of decisions rendered in these cases, as has Nzinga, who writes that her experience, "leads me to believe that the decisions made at Canada Immigration level are anything but humanitarian. They are based on politics and economics". Her case also brings attention to the need for a Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy. Nzinga herself was sexually assaulted in 2001 by a security officer. When she reported this assault to the police, a train of events was started that almost saw her deported, as she warns us, "Women with nonstatus cannot report sexual harassment at work, spousal abuse or even rape if the result is being punished by deportation."

In Nzinga's case, it is clear that the struggle continues. She is asking for our support, with donations and other direct solidarity with her Torontobased committee. As she remembers from Yoruba proverb: If the fence does not have props it will collapse. "

Wendy Maxwell Support Committee:
c/o the York Women's Centre - York University,
4700 Keele St., Student Centre Room 322,
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 Canada

To contact Nzinga directly....
Wendy Maxwell Edwards
P.O. Box 13976-1000
San José, Costa Rica, Central America
email: warrior_queen_nzinga@yahoo.ca
www.supportwendy.com

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From Strike! Volume 1,
Issue#1 July 2005 (Ontario Edition)