Smaller
Bigger
Close Gallery
Toronto.– The four Dominican Republic musicians grinned from a big screen hanging above a secondary school stage Wednesday night.
"Hello, people from Laura Secord choir," one of them called out. "We are 4 in 1." But that was as close as the group came to meeting their St. Catharines songwriting partners after being denied Canadian visas.
The school's 100-member choir collaborated on a song with the foursome as part of a special year-long project with Toronto musician James Bryan. The world premiere of their effort, One Voice, was to be performed live Wednesday night by the group and choir, meeting for the first time on the Laura Secord Secondary School stage.
"It was a huge disappointment," Bryan said, explaining the flights were booked and money raised for the trip. "It would have been a complete project if they actually met." The fundraising concert for World Vision had already been postponed from May 29 because of visa issues.
In a last-minute effort, members of 4 in 1 pre-recorded a message for the students and audience, thanking everyone for the opportunity. Organizers were told the group was denied entry to Canada for fear they would stay and apply for refugee status. Bryan said it only inspired him to make the night more of a success.
"We take it for granted as long as we have money for a plane ticket we can travel. For so many people, that's not the case," Bryan said. "There was no reason why they couldn't come."
Music teacher Dave Sisler said the men were supposed to be billeted with St. Catharines families and everyone was disappointed. "We wanted meet them, show them around. Show them the school, the community, the falls, he said. "We'll keep trying."
The Sing Across the World project was launched in November 2007 by Bryan, a Laura Secord graduate and renowned Canadian guitarist with the Philosopher Kings, Prozzak and Nelly Furtado.
Facebook
Digg this
del.icio.us
Technorati
Yahoo
Surprisingly, the reactionary slime in Canada who control the visas are more promiscuous about whom they humiliate and discriminate against or to whom they direct their vile contempt and repulsive arrogance.
No wonder certain tourists of appropriate gender from time to time leave Punta Cana absent a penis.
oooo
It seems to be a rather complicated process up there. But the aim of the immigration game which doesn't appear evenly administered based on national origin by the current reactionaries in power is to get your hands on a Canadian green card or maple leaf card by hook or crook.
Here's some of ground rules of the game, found of course in Wiki, after the passing of 2002 immigration law.
00000000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Permanent_Resident_Card
The Permanent Resident Card (PR Card) was introduced on 28 June 2002 upon the implementation of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It was originally billed as the Maple Leaf Card
It is the primary method by which Canadian permanent residents (formerly known as landed immigrants) can prove their status.
PR card can only be applied for in Canada
It is not possible to apply for the PR Card outside Canada. Instead, those permanent residents wishing to prove their status may apply for a single use Travel Document which allows a journey to Canada as a permanent resident. The application may be submitted to any CIC office outside Canada and the fee is $50 CAD. Details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Permanent_Resident_Card
00
It's my understanding that the ruling Canadian reactionaries, like their GOP masters in the USA, don't slam the door in the face of Cuban reactionary immigrants who by hook or crook manage to slip into the country.
The Canadian reactionaries, like their US counterparts, hand the Cuban who slips in a green card as soon as the "illegal" Cuban is found. Then the Cuban who slipped in uses the green card to get 80% rent subsidy, about $500 a month worth of food stamps, avails himself of public health care, and financial assistance to go school.
But if you're a Caribbean from some place other than Cuba, the Canadian or US authorities are liable throw you into a prison ... or, more politely, a "place of detention" ... where you will be periodically tortured, raped, and degraded in other ways to discourage your return.
Either everybody who slips-in sould be rewarded with a juicy green card or nobody who slips-in should be rewarded. It's unfair, unjust, and inequitable to reward some who slip-in and punish others who do the same thing.
0000
I hope there is no need to tell you where to go.
Perhaps, you should finally work on your lack of understanding.
I'm sure you do worst things with your time.