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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne met with members of the Rohingya community living in Kitchener-Waterloo in October. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne met with members of the Rohingya community living in Kitchener-Waterloo in October. Premier Kathleen Wynne Twitter
28
Oct
2017

Ontario's Support for Humanitarian Efforts for the Rohingya in Myanmar

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Published in News

In October, Premier Kathleen Wynne met with members of the Rohingya refugee community and their allies in Kitchener-Waterloo, including many of the young actors from the play I Am Rohingya.

She released the following statement on October 25, 2017 regarding Ontario's response to the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar:

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"I am appalled by the killings and other gross violations of human rights as part of a widespread attack against the Rohingya people in Myanmar's Rakhine State. The attacks have caused an additional 600,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh since August, creating what the United Nations calls the world's fastest-growing refugee crisis. These are crimes against humanity -- and responsibility for ending this ethnic cleansing falls squarely on Myanmar's military leadership and its civilian government.

Many people here in Ontario have experienced the pain and anguish of the atrocities in Myanmar. Earlier this week, I met with members of the Rohingyacommunity in Kitchener to listen to their stories of suffering and persecution. Hearing their heartbreaking experiences first-hand reinforced my belief that the international community must act urgently to end this brutality.

With similar urgency, we are compelled to provide humanitarian assistance for the people who continue to suffer at the hands of a brutal regime. To support these relief efforts, the Ontario government will contribute $1 million to two organizations. Ontario will provide $500,000 to the Canadian Red Cross, which is providing assistance for hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh, including shelter, food and water, hygiene and sanitation, with an additional focus on the prevention of gender-based violence. Ontario will provide $500,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières Canada to support quality medical aid, emergency sanitation and mental health services for people suffering in the crisis.

I am also supportive and appreciative of our federal government's efforts to work with other countries to exert pressure on the Myanmar regime. I am encouraged by the appointment of former Ontario premier Bob Rae as Canada's special envoy to the region. He is an excellent choice for this mission because of his long record of strong leadership on human rights.

We in Ontario must be vocal in our calls for the rights of Rohingya people and against the atrocities being committed in the region. Everyone in the world deserves a safe place to call home, freedom from persecution, and full equality under the law." 

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Read 6132 times Last modified on Sat, 28 Oct 2017 22:52
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Chelby Daigle

Chelby Marie Daigle is Muslim Link’s Editor in Chief and Coordinator. Under her direction, Muslim Link adopted its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy so that the website strives to reflect the complexity of Muslim communities in Canada. She knows that she fails to do justice to this complexity every day but she will continue to try to improve as she recognizes the frustration of being both marginalized in the mainstream and also marginalized in Muslim communities. As Coordinator, she works to build relationships with Muslim and mainstream organizations and manages the website's social media, event listings, and directories. She organizes regular Muslim Link gatherings. She also works closely with the Publisher to find ways to keep Muslim Link sustainable. Find her on Twitter @ChelbyDaigle