The 2017 article by Rachel Kronick, Cecile Rousseau, and Janet Cleveland primarily focus on the systematic issues of detaining children in detention centers in Canada. Their research was conducted on children between the ages 3 to 13 years old where they found that they all faced had some kind of traumatic experience even though they did not understand the meaning of forced confinement or migration. Therefore, they looked into the mental health problems that many of these children face. Studies have shown that children are detained based on three reasons. One being, their identity needs to be verified before they are let into the country. Second, the border services officers may keep them as they suspect that you may not appear in court for the hearing. Third, officers may consider you to be a danger to the general public.
Rationale:
I chose this reading to have others understand the reality of children kept in detention centers and how they are invisible in statistics of immigration in Canada. This article is a key factor in acknowledging the experiences of these children which has been hidden away from our fellow citizens and even myself. After reading this article, I want to raise awareness to others of how fortunate we are to be able to live without being questioned of our identity or being put into jail like cell for just being a human from another country. Children between the ages I mentioned above does not have any reason to be split from their parents unless they were actually deemed to be criminals in their hometown. As I further read into this topic, there are many questions that are left unanswered such as their access to education and their relationships with other kids.
Keywords: Children, Canadian Immigration, Migration
Author: Border Crossing Feminist
One of the most disturbing issues I recently learned about in the gender class is the Canadian immigration detention centers that include children, especially when Canada is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1990 and ratified in 1991. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival, and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the CRC is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. Unfortunately, this practice of detaining these children is breaching each and every law of the above convention.
Jadal