PM Trudeau Apology, 1914 Rejection of Indian Ship Immigrants: Canada's 100 Yr. Race Legacy

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Watch the Democracy Now! Program VIDEO Airing Today, May 20, Link Below.
Coverage of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's apology speech today for the May 23, 1914 refusal of a shipload of 370 Indian British subjects seeking to immigrate to Canada. Also the history and legacy of white supremacist, anti-Asian, anti-Indigenous People policies in Canada.
Guest Ali Kazimi, filmmaker of "Continuous Journey" (2004) an awarded documentary on the tragic story of Indian passengers in 1914 aboard the Japanese ship Komagata Maru, talks on the Imperial myth that British subjects, particularly South Asians were equal within the Empire. DN! Program Host Amy Goodman in Toronto interviews members of the Indigenous and Toronto Black Lives Matter communities about continuing issues of racism and discrimination in Canada.
>WATCH The VIDEO,
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/20/canada_apologizes_for_racist_incident_100





Broadcasting from Toronto, Canada, we look at how Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized this week for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident in which Canada turned away a Japanese steamship in order to prevent more than 370 Indians, including Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus, from immigrating to the country.
The move was widely acknowledged to be aimed at keeping Indians out of Canada. Then premier of British Columbia, Sir Richard McBride, said at the time, "And we always have in mind the necessity of keeping this a white man’s country." We feature excerpts from the award-winning documentary on the Komagata Maru incident, "Continuous Journey," and speak with its director, Ali Kazimi, who is also author of the book, "Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru." Kazimi also discusses Canada’s current practice of detaining asylum seekers after a string of deaths inside detention centers.
- TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re on the road in Toronto, Canada, broadcasting from the studios of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has formally apologized for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident, in which Canada turned away a Japanese steamship in order to prevent more than 370 Indians, including six Muslims and Hindus, from immigrating to Canada. The move was widely acknowledged to be aimed at keeping Indians out of Canada. Then premier of British Columbia, Sir Richard McBride, said at the time, quote, "we always have in mind the necessity of keeping this a white man’s country." Well, on Wednesday, more than a century after the boat was turned away, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized.
PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Mr. Speaker, today I rise in this house to offer an apology on behalf of the government of Canada for our role in the Komagata Maru incident. ... More than a century ago, a great injustice took place. On May 23rd, 1914, a steamship sailed into Burrard Inlet in Vancouver. On board were 376 passengers of Sikh, Muslim and Hindu origin. Those passengers, like millions of immigrants to Canada before and since, came seeking better lives for their families, greater opportunities, a chance to contribute to their new home. Those passengers, like millions of immigrants to Canada before and since, came seeking better lives for their families, greater opportunities, a chance to contribute to their new home. Those passengers chose Canada. When they arrived here, they were rejected.
No words can erase the pain and suffering they experienced. Regrettably, the passage of time means that none are alive to hear our apology today. Still, we offer it fully and sincerely, for our indifference to your plight, for our failure to recognize all that you had to offer, for the laws that discriminated against you so senselessly, and for not apologizing sooner. For all these things, we are truly sorry. ... Just as we apologize for past wrongs, so, too, must we commit ourselves to positive action, to learning from the mistakes of the past and to making sure that we never repeat them. That is the unique promise and potential of Canada.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking on Wednesday, formally apologizing for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident. The tragedy of the Komagata Maru was told in the 2004 documentary Continuous Journey. This is a part of the film’s trailer.
ALI KAZIMI: May 23rd, 1914, immigration officers surround the Komagata Maru and anchor it one kilometer from shore. No one can land. The press is barred. No reasons are given. Who are these men? They are farmers, at sea for two long months. They are British subjects finally reaching the shores of a British dominion. They believe they can go anywhere in the empire.
AUDREY MACKLIN: One of the most powerful myths of the British Empire promoted by imperial interests was the assertion that all British subjects are equal within and throughout the empire. The attempts by Canada to exclude South Asians from entering had the potential to explicitly explode that myth. CONTINUED..
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/20/canada_apologizes_for_racist_incident_100

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1. Canada PM Justin Trudeau Apologizes, 1914 Incident Turned Away Almost 400 Indian Immigrants

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, gives a formal apology in the House of Commons for Canadian government actions which caused hundreds of south Asians to be turned away from Canada when their vessel, the Komagata Maru, arrived in Vancouver in 1914.
Published May 18, 2016.