Immigrants, Refugees, and Deportees

January 28th is the 60 anniversary of the plane crash near Los Gatos Canyon in California in which 32 people died.  The 4 Americans were identified in news reports, but the 28 Mexicans were simply referred to as "deportees".  This callous reporting in addition to the the actual act of deporting 28 Mexicans whose contract for employment had run out inspired Woody Guthrie to write what later became the "Deportee" song.  In today's program we discussed the plight of people who are trying to improve their lives by moving to a country like Canada or the US.  In Canada's earlier history, immigrants, other than White, Anglo Saxon, were not particularly welcome.  In the 1930's when the Nazi's vicious intentions towards Jews were becoming more and more menacing, Canada was among the many countries which turned back shiploads of Jewish immigrants, many of whom were victims of gas chambers as a result.  Contrast this with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's 1986 assertion that Canada should accept and welcome refugees fleeing from death and torture in their own lands.  Many in Canada and beyond see the present government's Bill C-4 as a huge step backwards in the treatment of these people. We discuss these and other issues and listen to Joan Baez singing the Deportee song.