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Posted by Vijay on October 24, 2010, at 3:50 pm |
“Yesterday my campaign learned of a blatantly homophobic radio ad being aired on the Canadian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (CTBC) radio station, which states: “Take Rob Ford for example. His wife is a woman.” The ad urges voters to vote for Rob Ford. My campaign recorded the ad and had it translated – the full transcript is below.
This morning, we learned of colour posters that were affixed to George Smitherman campaign signs, those of council candidates supporting George and on signposts along the Danforth and across Beaches-East York that have targeted my sexual orientation. A picture of the signs can be found here: http://plixi.com/p/52648247
These types of campaign tactics are hateful and hurtful and have no place in Toronto. Councillor Ford should be outraged that his name is openly associated with the homophobic radio ads promoting his candidacy and I’m calling on him today to immediately denounce these ads and categorically deny that his campaign had any prior knowledge of, or involvement with them. That he has not yet done so is inexcusable.
I will remain focused on offering a Toronto that finds strength in our diversity and builds for the future, not divides.”
George Smitherman
Posted by Vijay on October 24, 2010, at 3:46 pm |
Tamil Community Statement Condemning Racism and Homophobia
We condemn unequivocally the racist and homophobic campaign message that was recently broadcasted in support of mayoralty candidate Rob Ford on the Canadian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (CBTC). Following widespread public condemnation by Tamil Canadians and community leaders, the CTBC has removed this inflammatory message from its broadcast. We thank the CTBC for responding so quickly to our communities’ concerns.
However, we fear that this racist and homophobic message may have already set a dangerous precedent, one that must be opposed immediately.
We oppose without qualification the false premise that homophobia appeals to and is endorsed by ethnic communities and their religious and cultural values. The suggestion that an entire community would cast its votes based on anti-gay bigotry projects a falsely homogenized image based on crude and offensive stereotypes. In particular, it perpetuates the view that Tamil Canadians are ignorant and politically naïve sycophants who can be mobilized en masse by jingoism, racism, homophobia, and narrow partisan interests.
Worse still, this message maliciously misrepresents what is otherwise, and has always been, a politically engaged community that judges candidates – not by their cultural background or sexual orientation – but by their record of public service.
Any message that promotes racism or homophobia does not reflect the rich political diversity of Toronto’s Tamil communities. In this case, it represents a pathetic and tasteless attempt at appropriating the myriad of Tamil voices.
This kind of campaigning negatively affects all Torontonians, regardless of our political beliefs, and traverses a dangerously divisive path that, we hope, all candidates in this election will refuse to tread.
We invite Toronto’s vibrant multi-ethnic and multi-cultural communities to join us in denouncing this shameful act and in demanding that Rob Ford unequivocally condemn its racism and homophobia, and publicly pursue those responsible.
For more information contact:
Vijay Sappani.
416.716.1522
Posted by Vijay on October 23, 2010, at 10:41 pm |
Away in Edmonton on work, when I got half a dozen calls about a disgusting radio ad in a Tamil radio CTBC- Canadian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation, run by Illaybharati, I was puzzled.
When I heard the recording of the ad in YouTube, I felt like puking. This is disgusting in many ways. By placing such an ad targeted at the Tamil community, it portrays Tamils to be anti gay, worse they daringly assume that homophobia will appeal to the Tamil community in Toronto.
This is the kind of stereotypes by ’white’ politicians living in the colonial world of plantation and salves that tarnishes Tamils and immigrants and portrays them of failing to accept Canadian values, living in cultural ghettos filled with anti Canadian values.
There are many issues with the Tamil community and as a Canadian of Tamil heritage, I have been one of the most vocal critics of it, including the LTTE, but I can assure you of one thing, that the Tamil Community is not anti gay. If any, they are the most caring, culturally vibrant group who don’t judge politicians by their sexuality, but rather by their public service.
Here is the exact translations of the Ad:
Tamil Transcript of the ad
MAN #1: Mani anna (elder brother), who are you going to vote for ?
MAN#2: *snickering dismissively* what a question…we are Tamil…we have a religion, a culture..take rob ford…he is married to a woman..also he promises to lower transfer and other fees..
man#1: so..immigration?…
MAN#2: *snickering dismissively again* that’s a federal matter..probably to get the whiteman’s vote (term for white man used here colloquially with racist undertones)..
MAN#1: i am also voting for rob ford
** this is a paid advertisement*
Rob Ford should come out clean on this and should apologize to Tamil Canadians and Torontonians if this is the work of his campaign team, if not we would like to see him condemn it and clarify his position on same sex marriage.
CTBC should provide details of who paid for the advertisement.
Posted by Vijay on October 20, 2010, at 9:11 pm |
The Junta in Burma knows one thing well,- don’t bite the hand that feeds you! But for Chinese journalists, Burma has banned international observers and journalists from monitoring and covering the upcoming election. It is clear that the Junta is coming under severe international pressure and agreed to host elections, though flawed from the beginning. Suu Kyi release date was changed to be post election, banned from contesting, political rallies restricted and now the biggest blow- Foreign journalists banned from covering the elections.
It is clear the Junta does not want the outside world to see how they are going to rig the election and stop people from voting. Interestingly only China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency has permission to employ foreign nationals in the country.
Canada along with US, UK, Australia and many other western countries called for UN Commission of Inquiry on Burma on Human rights abuses in Burma and our biggest supporter is none other than Obama and Clinton. In all fairness, we have been fortunate in Canada too. The ruling Conservatives gave honorary citizenship to Suu Kyi and supported recent international moves to force the Junta towards democracy and the opposition with Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are a formidable team, who are well known and respected for their opinion on foreign policy.
In fact Michael Ignatieff is known and well respected in the pro-democracy circles for his intellect. While we are disappointed with the ruling of the Junta in banning foreign journalists, we will and should continue to strive for democracy in Burma through international sanctions, persuading China and India and support to peaceful pro democracy groups.
To follow the elections in Burma, The Irrawady Burma Election To follow on Twitter, you have a full list on my Twitter . If you are a Canadian journalist you can contact us at Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB)
We have lost everything in Burma, but there is still Hope and there is……Suu Kyi!
Posted by Vijay on October 17, 2010, at 5:11 pm |
Dear Merkel:
It was disappointing to hear your say Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have “utterly failed”
It failed because you thought Multiculturalism is a cookie that you throw at immigrants to keep them happy, when it can be your future bread and butter… Politicians always confuse between Multiculturalism and diversity. Multi-culturalism as it sounds is Multiple cultures and they make it sound like “white” people don’t have culture(s) because it is always used as an appeasement tool with visible minorities.
The best multicultural society is one that doesn’t know it is one! When you learn to look beyond a person’s skin and think only of the skill set they bring to table, you will have a truly diverse, multicultural society in the government, board rooms, work place and everywhere!
Stop worrying about immigrants integrating into German society and just let them do their work, maybe start thinking about how to make German cars more fuel efficient and affordable, so that my wife will allow me to get that Porsche!
Posted by Vijay on October 14, 2010, at 10:53 pm |
Burma VJ monks in town
Two Burmese Buddhist monks, U Pyinya Zawta and U Agga Nyana, who played a leading role in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, will be in Canada to tell their first-hand stories and discuss the current political situation in Burma when the Academy Award-nominated documentary on their movement – Burma VJ – is screened at events in Ottawa and Toronto. Accompanied by U Kawida, the abbot of Burmese Buddhist Temple in Toronto, the two monks are scheduled to meet with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and members of Parliamentary Friends of Burma (PFOB) on Friday October 15, 2010.
U Pyinya Zawta is a founding member in Exile of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance that led the monks against the military junta in 2007 in Burma was imprisoned for ten years for his pro-democracy activities in Burma. He is the commanding voice behind the scenes in the documentary film, Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country. U Agga Nya Na is one of the monks who experienced the Saffron Revolution in 2007 first-hand.
After more than 1 month in hiding, he escaped to Thailand where he testified to a delegation from the United States Congress and the Ambassador from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok about the violent crackdown by the military regime on the peaceful protest.
Please see the schedule below: -Meeting with FAC at 2pm on Friday Oct. 15 -Attending a meeting hosted by PFOB and its vice-chair Paul Dewar at 4pm on Friday Oct. 15 -Attending Burma VJ screening and discussion with members of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) – Saturday Oct. 16 from 8am-11am -Meeting with Ottawa Burmese Community – Saturday Oct. 16 noon -Meeting with Toronto Burmese Community – Sunday Oct. 17 noon -Participating in Burma VJ screening at University of Toronto – Monday Oct. 18 evening Further contact: 613-297-6835
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The Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) is federally incorporated, national non-governmental organization working for democracy and human rights in Burma. Contact: Suite 206, 145 Spruce St., Ottawa, K1R 6P1; Tel: 613.237.8056; Email: cfob@cfob.org; Web: www.cfob.org
Posted by Vijay on August 30, 2010, at 12:13 am |
I have been away from blogs for a while, more engrossed in twitter  but I’m back to blogs and as there is a lot of political activity with municipal elections and controversies around it, I will be blogging more on it in the coming months.
As for the heading, sounds interesting eh. Yes, it is a real question and not a trick one. Let me explain.
Asha For Education Work An Hour (WAH)is the largest online fundraising campaign for Asha, where donors symbolically Work an Hour towards the cause of children’s education India by donating an hour’s worth or more of their salary. A great initiative that has grown in strength every year, with $146,000 raised from 900 donors last year.
This year WAH is attempting to raise $200,000 for 13 projects supporting 28 schools for 2214 children. This year is special for me. I have been involved with Asha For Education since 2004, when I was one of the co-founder of Asha For Education, Canada and has grown to be a fully registered charity with many volunteers across Canada. This year an Asha Canada project People’s Action for Transformation (PAT) is part of WAH. This is the first time an Asha Canada initiated project is part of WAH and we aim to raise $20,000 to make the project 100% self sustainable.
I have been involved with the PAT project for a while now, They run schools for children in five slums and last year I spent three weeks visiting and working with them in Trichy, India. You can see the photos here from my visit. It’s my belief that only education can bring socio-economic change to the underprivileged and money alone can not change it. There is a need for a strategic approach that Asha For Education provides.
Asha for Education has come a long way since its inception in 1991. Asha had 15 chapters in 1995, and now has over 70 chapters which consists of international chapters in US,Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Asha is 100% volunteer driven and has Zero% overhead charges.
Charity Navigator, the premier independent evaluator of charities in the United States, has awarded Asha for Education with its highest rating this year and has named AFE in their “Top Ten Charities Worth Watching” and “Top Ten Slam Dunk Charities” list in the past. A lot of credit for getting here goes to AFE’s low overheads, efficiency in fund disbursement and donor privacy policy.
So the question is will you donate 1 hour of your time to change the life of a child ? Be it $10 or $100, contributions from every donor go a long way. Canadian residents click here and others can click here for details
Go ahead and tell your friends that you changed the life of a Child today.Make a donation. Be proud of it.
Posted by Vijay on July 4, 2010, at 10:48 pm |
This is long due, but now than never. I’m delighted to be voted among the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant award winners for 2010 and the youngest ever to receive the award. Truly a humbling and motivating moment. It’s an award that is given out by Canadian Immigrant Magazine, which is part of the Toronto Star parent group Star media.
Here is a link to my award profile and the 24 other award winners. http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/VijaySappani
To know more about the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award click here and here is a brief note…..for the lazy ones 
Our Top 25 Canadian Immigrants is a peoples’ choice award that recognizes people who have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living here. Whether it’s a community advocate or volunteer, a successful entrepreneur or a cultural icon, this is the first Canadian national award program that recognizes immigrants’ achievements from all walks of life.
When people leave their home country, they also leave behind their role models. Now in Canada, they need new positive role models — by recognizing Canada’s top immigrants we are providing an entire nation of immigrants with such positive examples. The selected 25 immigrants will enthuse and motivate all immigrants as they establish their new life and home in Canada.
Posted by Vijay on June 7, 2010, at 10:42 am |
My joint oped with Avinash Gavai in the National Post.
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/Attracting+best+brightest/3120823/story.html
Vijay Sappani and Avinash Gavai, National Post · Monday, Jun. 7, 2010
In early 2010 both the Ontario and federal governments made a concerted effort to attract more international students by announcing several new measures. Why is this happening now? Canada recognizes that there is an opportunity to be taken advantage of. It is now possible for the country to attract students who might normally have gone to educational institutions in the United States or Australia.
Last year in Canada, 178,000 international students spent $6.5-billion, creating 83,000 jobs. Compare that to the $13-billion international students spent in Australia — that country’s third largest source of foreign revenue.
That difference can change. A series of high-profile attacks on Indian students in Australia has lead to a 46% drop in applications to Australian schools from India. In the United States and the United Kingdom, general tightening of student visa rules — and security measures that would scare off a grizzly bear–have forced Indians to consider other friendlier, snowier pastures.
“Canada has got a world-class educational system which many in India are not aware of,” said Mahesh Tripathi, a student at the University of Ottawa. “There is little of the racism in Australia, and none of the security hassles one faces in America.”
Canadians have an enviable reputation as being friendly and extremely tolerant. They belong to a nation where multiculturalism is a highly visible part of life, and where a plethora of religions and nationalities exist harmoniously — side by side. In light of the recent vicious attacks on Indians in places like Australia and Russia, this atmosphere of tolerance becomes especially valuable.
A newly introduced federal program with relaxed work permit status, which allows international students to apply for landed immigrant status from within Canada, will encourage more of them to stay. These Canadian-educated foreign students, who have already integrated into our communities and don’t have to worry about getting foreign credentials recognized, make an ideal choice of highly qualified immigrants to meet the demands of our skilled labour market. Foreign students make up the major source of talent for research jobs in the United States and over 10,000 startups in Silicon Valley were created by immigrants who came to the country as students.
International education is a growth industry that offers many opportunities, but it has its challenges too. In Australia, for example, the primary aim for many colleges seems to be to secure residency for its students. A country-wide educational study recently came out that reported that almost a fifth of private colleges in Australia were “permanent residency factories.” When such surreptitious goals supplant more important ones, the student is the loser.
While foreign students enhance the classroom learning experience and enrich diversity, the quality of students should not lower our standards of learning. The academic requirements for foreign students should not be compromised in order to attract more students, nor should the teacher-to-student ratio be widened.
International terrorist groups have used student visas as a back door to enter the United States and the United Kingdom. Canada has to be strategic in its outreach in targeting safe markets and must strengthen security precautions for foreign students from high-risk countries.
The first step, though, is to attract the students. While more than 100,000 people from India enrolled in American universities and colleges, Canada has managed to attract only a fifth of that number. The problem is our poor marketing. While Australia spends over $50-million promoting itself as a premier destination for higher education, Canada spends a paltry $1-million. Even New Zealand, a nation of only 4.5 million people, shows greater bravura than Canada in promoting itself.
Ramesh Thakur, a professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, who has also worked as a consultant to the Australian and New Zealand governments on international security issues, says “Canada is more tolerant, safer and to be very honest, far more welcoming to people of diverse backgrounds [than other countries]. The Canadian system of learning ranks amongst the finest in the world — and this is probably our best kept secret.”
It’s time that secret was revealed.
- Vijay Sappani and Avinash Gavai both came to Canada as international students and settled in the country. For more information contact Vijaysappani@gmail.com
Posted by Vijay on April 28, 2010, at 12:13 pm |
Enough has been said about divisions, separatism that only leads to more death and destruction. This is Canada and we can not let the conflict in Sri Lanka divide communities in Canada.
We need to move forward as progressive Canadians and not divide as regressive Sri Lankans in Canada. We can keep talking the problem …and there will be no solution. Our biggest barriers are going to be politicians and interest groups that profit from the strife and disrupt reconciliation. As Canadians we need to fight them, unite and move forward as Canadians or else the battles of the world will be fought here, while the rest of the world has moved on, like we have seen in the recent past.
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2958882
A way forward for Sri Lankan Canadians
Amiththan Sebarajah, Jacinta Kanakaratnam, Nadeesh Jayasinghe, Kumaran Nadesan, Suthamie Poologasingham, Vijay Sappani, Viranjith Tilakaratne and Yolanie Hettiarachchi, National Post
Published: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sri Lanka: To many, it is a small island off the Indian coast, torn asunder by decades of civil war. Yet few understand the complexity of its conflicts or its people. Sri Lanka’s demography is both Tamil and Sinhalese (along with a number of other significant subcultures). The ethnic profile of the Sri Lankan diaspora in Canada is representative of this diversity, but there has been very little interaction or dialogue amongst them, even here.
On April 11, a mixed group of Sri Lankan Canadian young professionals and business leaders met at the Holiday Inn in Markham, Ont., to change precisely that.
Responding to growing frustration amongst younger Canadian-Sri Lankans over the perennial state of emergency, deteriorating human rights situation, and increasing threat to free media and civil society within Sri Lanka, we felt that without frank and honest conversation, there would be no reconciliation; generations of Sinhalese-and Tamil-Canadians will continue to be caught up in cycles of learned prejudice and senseless violence. We felt that a fresh platform is needed to rethink Tamil-Sinhala relations in Canada.
Conceived organically on social networking sites and nourished by coffee-shop conversations, eight of us decided to launch a pioneering, grassroots initiative firmly grounded in our shared Canadian identity. Our concerns about the Sri Lankan diaspora community will be guided, we agreed, by a quintessentially Canada-first approach.
Our mandate was to invite 50 Sri Lankan Canadian young professionals to a networking luncheon where they could build their professional networks while creating a safe space for dialogue on the value of inter-communal solidarity in Canada.
We also invited mentors from the Jewish-and Indo-Canadian communities so that mentees could learn from the successes of those communities in Canada.
We asked mentors and mentees to examine the questions of identity politics, and discuss policy alternatives for improving access to higher education, employment, and social services for the community, as well as strategies for effectively engaging different levels of the Canadian government on these issues.
The participants responded enthusiastically. We were both heartened and humbled to witness the energy with which they embraced the concept and debated tangible solutions. One young professional observed: “While in Sri Lanka, linguistic and cultural barriers might have prevented us from reaching out but there is no reason to continue like that here in Canada where we all speak a common language.”
To those participants born and raised in Canada, and for whom Sri Lanka’s myriad exclusionary politics were a persistent impediment for negotiating the Tamil-Sinhala divide, the event provided a meaningful interpersonal experience. It gave them an opportunity to meet fellow Canadians of different Sri Lankan origins, and to reflect upon creating a civil, democratic space to discuss common aspirations and redress past grievances; to move forward as a united community.
Our aim was not to oversimplify intricate and seemingly irreconcilable socio-political realities of Sri Lanka, nor was it to absolve the injustice and violence committed upon all communities in that country. We focused, instead, on the prospects for open dialogue and inter-communal solidarity here at home in Canada, since we earnestly believe that this is the promise and promise of our greater Canadian identity.
Will the rest of you join us?
-For more information or to join the network, please contact vijaysappani@gmail.com.
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