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| Biruwa |
Posted
on 03-Aug-03 10:06 PM
From New York Times
The Al Laghetto Restaurant on Route 9W is a well-regarded family operation that until recently was run by Elizabeta Markvukaj, her fiancé, Vaso Nikpreljevic, and his brother Mario.
Ms. Markvukaj is a friendly, formidable woman from Albania who carries with her the disturbing memories of her years in a Communist internment camp. Vaso, Mario and other members of the close-knit Nikpreljevic clan settled in the U.S. after fleeing Montenegro in the 1990's.
After the violence, hatreds and atrocities they witnessed in their homelands, these refugees had managed to knit together a life in quiet upstate Rockland County that seemed very good indeed. Elizabeta and Vaso had a baby girl 18 months ago and were making plans for their wedding. They belonged to a local church, paid their taxes promptly, contributed to charity and participated in Sept. 11 relief efforts.
It's hard to imagine a family that is less of a threat to the peace and well-being of the United States. And yet everything the family has worked toward is unraveling.
On Nov. 30, 2002, Mr. Nikpreljevic was pulled over for speeding on the Connecticut Turnpike. A computer check revealed that his immigration papers were not in order. A nightmare scenario ensued. He was handcuffed and arrested, and has not been out of custody since. The government has ordered him deported. And under current law he would be barred from any realistic chance of returning.
"He hasn't done anything wrong," said Ms. Markvukaj. Tears streamed down her face during an interview on a large, covered patio behind the restaurant. She described how she took the baby, Nina, to visit Vaso in prison ("She recognized him!"), how business has fallen off in the restaurant and how the family is fighting with everything it has to block Vaso's deportation.
Mr. Nikpreljevic's immigration history is complicated. His lawyers, Theodore Cox and Joshua Bardavid, said that back in the early-90's when he first came to the U.S., Mr. Nikpreljevic's mother submitted a petition on his behalf requesting authorization to apply for a green card. That petition was approved. But Mr. Nikpreljevic submitted a request for asylum. That was denied and he was deported.
He returned to the U.S. illegally, through Canada. But, according to the lawyers, he paid a $1,000 penalty and was permitted to apply for a green card and remain in the U.S. pending a decision on his application.
As he had never been in trouble, and his relatives and fiancée had all been able to secure citizenship or permanent residency status, he did not anticipate a problem.
But times (and the treatment of immigrants) have changed since Sept. 11. After his arrest in Connecticut, Mr. Nikpreljevic was told that his application had been "terminated." No reason was given, his lawyers said. Mr. Nikpreljevic has been held in a number of prisons in Connecticut and Massachusetts since then, the latest being the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, Conn.
When he is being moved from one prison to another, his family said, officials just show up in the middle of the night and take him away a very frightening procedure. Thousands of men and women, many of them completely innocent, are ensnared in this system, which is fundamentally uncaring and frequently cruel. Many of the immigrants never even see an attorney.
In Mr. Nikpreljevic's case, the lawyers have challenged the decision by immigration authorities to "terminate" his application for permanent residency status. If their effort is unsuccessful he will be deported, and there is little doubt his family will be devastated.
Mr. Nikpreljevic and his relatives are exactly the kinds of productive individuals who help a society to thrive. They have been a boon to their local community and are assets to the U.S. as a whole. But the law, especially in times of great fear, does not always leave room for wise decisions. And where immigrants are concerned, the system becomes more of a crapshoot than ever.
So the extended family that is anchored by the Al Laghetto Restaurant is holding its collective breath, hoping for a merciful ruling from the courts.
The speeding charge, by the way, was dismissed
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| ghamandi |
Posted
on 05-Aug-03 10:34 AM
NO WONDER IMMIGRANTS ARE TREATED THAT WAY. FINALLY, IMMIGRANTS ARE EXPLOITED IN ONE WAY OR OTHER. JUST AN EXAMPLE OF CANADA. CANADA IS RATED THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD FOR IMMIGRANTS EVEN BY UN. BUT MY EXPERIENCE IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT. IT MAY BE SO TEN OR FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. MY WON EXPERIENCE IS THAT IT IS PROMOTING SLAVERY.
EVEN THOSE WHO COME TO CANADA AS SKILLED LABOUR CATEGORY LIKE MYSELF HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A SIMPLE MINIMUM WAGE JOB OF MY CHOICE TO SUPPORT ME AND MY FAMILY. THEY SAY, I MUST TAKE UP ANY JOB - JANITORIAL, SECURITY, NANNY, GAS STATION ATTENDANT, WAREHOUSE JOBS, FARM WORKER...ETC. OK, THAT'S FINE. I WANTED TO DO SECURITY JOB WHICH IS AGAINST MY NATURE. THAT TOO OK. BUT I HAVE TO WORK AT NIGHTS GUARDING THE PLACE FROM ROBBERS, THIEVES...I HAVE TO STAY AWAKE ALL NIGHT. THAT'S TOTALLY AGAINST THE NATURE, I SAID. BUT AGAIN, WHAT YOU KNOW? YOU WILL GET THE SAME MINIMUM WAGE, EVEN AT THE COST OF YOUR HEALTH. I SEE NO WHITE CANADIAN TAKING MINIMUM WAGE JOBS BECAUSE THEY ALL SLEEP AT NIGHT WHILE IMMIGRANTS ARE FORCED TO TAKE UP EVEN SUCH JOBS SO THAT THE GOVT. OF CANADA WILL EARN TAX EVEN WHILE ALL THE POLITICIANS ARE SLEEPTING. THIS IS THE TRUE CAUSE WHY CANADA HASN'T STOPPED BRINGING NEW IMMIGRANTS - 250,000 A YEAR IN SPITE OF HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. STATISTICS CANADA ALWAYS SHOWS FIGURE EXCLUDING IMMIGRANTS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT CANADIANS YET. IT'S SHAME TO SAY THAT DEVELOPED COUNTRY LIKE CANADA IS EXPLOITING THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.
EVEN AN INSECT KNOWS WHAT IS FREEDOM. BUT HERE IN CANADA, IMMIGRANTS HAVE TO DO JOBS AS THEIR SUPERVISOR SAY. I WORKED AS JANITOR - I HAD TO WORK SIX HOURS TO FINISH THE JOB WHILE I AM PAID FOR FIVE ONLY. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THE SUPERVISOR SAID " IT'S YOUR PROBLEM." GUYS WHO WERE BEFORE YOU USED TO FINISH IN FIVE HOURS. BUT I SAID, "DID YOU SEE ME STOP?"
I QUIT THE JOB BECAUSE I HAVE SELF DIGNITY AND I RESPECT MYSELF. I CAN'T BE SLAVES, I THOUGHT. EVEN THAT JOB, I PURSUED FOR TWO MONTHS. I WOULDN'T HAVE GOT IT IF MY ROOTMATE WASN'T WORKING THERE.
SHAME TO POLITICIANS OF CANADA.... I HATE YOU...
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| learner |
Posted
on 05-Aug-03 10:51 AM
Friend, Ghamandi...a funny name.
All you said, I agree because I am also the victim. I am actually stuck here because I've finished all my money I brought form Nepal by selling all the property I had. Now I am working graveyard jobs. No choice - that's totally slavery. I know, I have become a slave because I had no option.
Free trainings are given to jobseekers - how to prepare resume, coverl etter, how to go for interviews, what to answer, this and that. What wonders me most is that - they also teach you should have a job with which you are happy. But on the other hand, they say you should take up any job for survival. What a shame?
Shame to politicians - they earn at least 100,000 canadian a year. What can we do? All think, we are from the poorest country and consider us as dogs barking...who cares?
Better to be quiet...because those whose stomach are full can never know what is hunger. They never experienced it. But they can act as if they are compassionate. All are actors - that's what actually we human beings are, in this world...I also hate politicians because they are the cause of all wars, hate and many more....
love you...learner
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| bhenda2 |
Posted
on 05-Aug-03 11:15 AM
learner jyu ley kaslai "Love YOu" dya nee.....resume ma pani tehi lekhya hola ani ke jagir paounu nee.....
Ani its your stupidity that you sold all your property and came to Canada...you should have talked to other Nepalese who live there to find out what is going on....DUH!
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| Learner |
Posted
on 05-Aug-03 12:01 PM
bhenda jyu, kaslai lekhne, uhi Ghamandi dai lai ni...
Ke garne, aafno buddi napuge pachhi yastai hoon chha. Kina royees mangale afnai dhanga le. Saathi haru le bhaneko na sune pachhi tyastai hoon chha. Pheri suru suru ma yasto pani kaam garne bhani phurti pani gareeyo. Tyasale pani sabai jhwaam pari yo slavery ko zindagi betaunu paryo. Tara ma matra hoina, dukha bhoolna aru 95% nepali daaju bhai pani slavery ko zindagi chha. Mero matra hoina kya re?
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