I think we all can agree that hearing the stories of Alex and Ricardo at Quintana's was an inspiring story. Even today, social and political issues force citizens to leave their countries as refugees, most notably from Syria. Over the course of history, we see examples of persecution, genocide, and military coups that aggressively seize power. Some countries offer aid and support to refugees and others prefer to stay out of the business of tumultuous states.
You may remember the story of the US citizens that hid with the Canadian representatives in Iran. The fictionalized version was made into the movie Argo. Decades before, another Canadian embassy sheltered Chilean citizens during the coup of president Allende in 1973. Helicopters and trucks carrying soldiers scoured cities finding anyone they believed still supported the dead president. People tried to find any foreign embassy that would protect them.
Marc Bulgin was the young diplomat in charge of the Canadian embassy. While Canada had been open to accepting refugees from Communist regimes, they had not had precedent for shielding refugees from political persecution. Mr. Bulgin made the decision to start housing people in his own home and later moving them to the ambassador's home. A month after the coup, the refugees under his care were given the news that they would be sent to Canada.
But not every Chilean refugee story was that simple. The Canadian government was stubborn when it came to supporting fleeing Chileans. While France and Sweden had expedited their relief efforts to accept refugees, Canada chose to stick to the letter of the law. Through the efforts of the Canadian Council of Churches, several campaigns arose within Canada calling for more support for those persecuted in Chile. They claimed that Canada's support to the people of Uganda, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia were not simply a political issue, but also a humanitarian one. Ottawa received criticism from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees for only accepting refugees that renounced any political activity.
This event is important for several reasons. Both domestic and international pressures forced Canada to deal with a situation it had been ignoring. Effective lobbying was able to present the issue as a humanitarian one rather than a strictly political move. This shaped Canada's more "neutral" policy towards refugees in the future, which has been to the benefit of other Latin American countries since.
You may remember the story of the US citizens that hid with the Canadian representatives in Iran. The fictionalized version was made into the movie Argo. Decades before, another Canadian embassy sheltered Chilean citizens during the coup of president Allende in 1973. Helicopters and trucks carrying soldiers scoured cities finding anyone they believed still supported the dead president. People tried to find any foreign embassy that would protect them.
Marc Bulgin was the young diplomat in charge of the Canadian embassy. While Canada had been open to accepting refugees from Communist regimes, they had not had precedent for shielding refugees from political persecution. Mr. Bulgin made the decision to start housing people in his own home and later moving them to the ambassador's home. A month after the coup, the refugees under his care were given the news that they would be sent to Canada.
But not every Chilean refugee story was that simple. The Canadian government was stubborn when it came to supporting fleeing Chileans. While France and Sweden had expedited their relief efforts to accept refugees, Canada chose to stick to the letter of the law. Through the efforts of the Canadian Council of Churches, several campaigns arose within Canada calling for more support for those persecuted in Chile. They claimed that Canada's support to the people of Uganda, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia were not simply a political issue, but also a humanitarian one. Ottawa received criticism from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees for only accepting refugees that renounced any political activity.
This event is important for several reasons. Both domestic and international pressures forced Canada to deal with a situation it had been ignoring. Effective lobbying was able to present the issue as a humanitarian one rather than a strictly political move. This shaped Canada's more "neutral" policy towards refugees in the future, which has been to the benefit of other Latin American countries since.