The Canadian military is building a camp that would house up to 500 asylum seeking refugees from the US. The camp is to be located in Saint - Bernard- de-lacolle, Quebec in close proximity to Plattsburgh, New York. Construction of the camp has begun a week after Canada turned its Montreal Olympic Stadium into a shelter for refugees crossing the US border. More than 4,300 refugees have crossed into Canada seeking refuge status since January of this year. Many of them were denied asylum in the US and are looking for a second chance at attaining it in Canada. Due to the influx of migrants at the border, these shelters will provide asylum seekers with flooring and electricity while they wait for their applications to be processed. Many of the asylum seekers at the Canadian border are from Haiti. In May of this year, the US announced that it would end its program that provides temporary protection to Haitian citizens in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in 2010. Since then, many refugees have migrated from Haiti to seek asylum in the province of quebec.
Parks for New Portlanders will be partnering up with Sunday Parkways to organize a walk with refugees and Immigrants on the 20th of August, and we would like you to join us! Parks for New Portlanders is a Portland Parks and Recreation program that celebrates the diverse population of Portland, Oregon, which settles over twenty-five thousand migrants every year from countries like Mexico, the Ukraine, Ethiopia, France and many others. If you would like to join us, Community Members and elected leaders will be gathering at East Portland Neighborhood Office, on 1017 NE 117th, at 11am, and participate in a one-mile walk alongside our immigrant neighbors for a show of solidarity and support. At the end of the walk, music, food and family-friendly activities will be provided, along with stories from the immigrant and refugee communities, from about noon to four PM. All are invited to attend; if you have questions, you may contact Som Subedi at 503-260-2487.
A grassroots campaign organized a 72 hour ceasefire in the city of Baltimore that started on Friday, August 4th. The hashtag Baltimore ceasefire movement was not affiliated with the Baltimore police department or any other part of the city government. The Baltimore police department did however keep in contact with Erricka Bridgeford, a key figure of the Baltimore ceasefire campaign. The campaign however did not start from a single group or person, sponsorship, or celebrity figure. The movement picked up steam through word of mouth and social media. The logo: a black, white, and red sign that read: “nobody kill anybody for 72 hours.” The City of Baltimore, on average, has more killings per capita than Chicago. There has been nearly one fatality per day this year. In the last two years, not only have the number of homicides increased, but the number of cases closed by the Baltimore police department has increased to one of the worst rates in the country. 41 hours in, after a day of peaceful marches, the ceasefire was broken. The victims, Lamontrey Tynes and donte johnson, were killed on Saturday, August 5th. Organizers of the Baltimore ceasefire movement say that they are heartbroken but that their work is not over. And the number of districts that were able to keep peace for 72 hours is a step in the right direction.
- KBOO