Eight children from the red light areas of Kamathipura and Falkland road in Mumbai have a reason to be excited. They have been selected to participate in a cultural event, organized by Yuva Arts Project and MT Space at Waterloo in Canada. But there is a critical problem – they have been struggling to get visas.
Prerana has been preparing for this trip for about a year now, and the journey has not been smooth. From fundraising for the expedition to getting passports, the organisation has put in continuous efforts to make this expedition happen. In August last year, the NGO had to rope in local police authorities and politicians, as getting passports made for the children was a major challenge. The children are born into brothels, making it hard to procure and verify the documents that serve as proof of identity and residence. After continuous efforts, the children managed to get the passports, but now with less than fifteen days to go, their visa applications have been rejected.
“Given your age, economic conditions, considering your travel history, economic establishment, and family ties, I am not satisfied that it is in your best interest to travel to Canada at this time.”, reads one of the reasons for two children whose visa applications got rejected.
The reasons given by the Canadian High Commission seem arbitrary. From stating minimal travel history to ‘family ties’ to stating that their reasons to visit Canada do not seem legitimate, it seems to be hard to understand what would convince the Canadian authorities to accept their applications.
A key ground for rejection of the applications has been minimal history. It is hard to understand how a child from a marginalized community is supposed to have prior travel history. If that were a reason to be used across all cases, then perhaps no one would ever be able to travel to Canada without traveling to other countries first. Also, the legitimacy of a cultural event is established by the invitations that are submitted at the time of applications.
Apart from this, Prerana undertook extensive fundraising and sponsorship initiatives to enable this expedition, so using their financial status as a reason seems unfair. Another child has been denied Visa on the grounds that the Canadian authorities are not satisfied that the child would leave Canada based on the travel history, the purpose of visit and financial status. This has been stated, despite the submission of return tickets as part of the Visa applications.
Canada as a country emphasizes on values of inclusivity but this seems to not be reflective of that thought. Recently on March 21, the Prime Minister of Canada, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, urged all Canadian citizens to stand against discrimination and work to build a more inclusive world. Denying children from a marginalized community the opportunity to visit a country, based on their background, seems less inclusive.
It might look like a small event and would perhaps even seem like a trivial issue that may not affect the lives of these children in entirety if they don’t attend one event, but it would go a long way in adding to their exposure and confidence. These children could then become role models for many other children in their community who aspire to reach greater heights. It also helps foster better cultural relations between the young minds of the two countries from culturally different backgrounds.
Using arts as a medium for dialogue, the two-week exchange would bring together these children from India with Canadian youth from diverse cultural backgrounds, including indigenous youth from Canada. These are aspects that can’t be measured monetarily.
Prerana has decided to re-apply for the visas. The children are passionate about music and had been selected to sing as part of the visit, at a cultural event. They have been all geared up, practicing diligently – but whether they would actually be able to perform, there is no telling at the time.
(The author works as a Senior Project Coordinator with Prerana in its Post Rescue Operations project.)