Robert Dziekanski Protest in Vancouver - Let's Organize!

Zgubiony said

........ Most international airports can cater to anyone speaking another language. They thought he was speaking Russian!? Was there an attempt to do the logical thing and try to find a translator?

at 1:00 in the a.m?? Would your Polish Consulate appreciate such a phone call? ,,be honest now.. (we would have called Russian embassy)


ok for those who dont know.....we speak english and french in canada. When coming here learn at least know some basic English.... I will have a polish phrase book when i visit Poland and i will be accustomed to simple phrases. I will not be arrogant and demand i am served in English...I will respect your language and culture.

A canadian does not know the difference between Russian or Polish...It sounds the same to us.

We cant man our airports 24/7 with translators for every language in the world....perhaps this is possible in Poland but not in USA or Canada.

(new immigrants should not be allowed Canadian citizenship unless they have a basic understanding of our 2 official languages)

As much as it bothers me what happened to him, I don't understand what was he doing for 10 hours? Walking in circles? Didn't he see where people go after picking up their luggage? He should have followed the crowd or his mother should have made an announcement. These 10 hours just don't make any sense, unless he was a little slow.

Polish interpreters ARE available at Vancouver International.

First, relatively few Candians speak both offical languages, so requiring newcomers to be better than Canadian born citizens in this respect would be an iffy proposition..

As for the requirements, basic command of one of the official languages is required before citizenship is granted. There is a citizenship exam (which most Canadians would likely fail) and this exams is in either English or French.

- First of all, who are those 'we'? You yourself are German, perhaps not even born in Canada (your 'command' of English seems to show this), aren't you? If so, how come there's so much chutzpah in you towards the Poles in Canada? Is it the old hatred brought over from Germany, and now spilling out under the pretext of 'defending' Canada...? You know, during WWII we Poles fought against Germany arm in arm with Canadians.... How those of your ilk get over this fact, I fancy? :)

There are lots of languages spoken in Canada, and some of them are more widely spoken in certain places than not just French (which is practically not spoken outside Quebec), but also English. E.g. in Vancouver, reportedly, Mandarin is the most widely used language, followed by Punjabi. English is only third...



- Thank you for this. Please, tell me more about Canadian attitudes towards the Poles, don't be, God forbid, shy about it.
:)

- Well, my dear Zgubiony, how could 'they' think Dziekanski was speaking Russian, if he had a Polish passport?

The lameness of 'their' lies shows how actually dumb 'they' must be. That's the kind of creatures who work for Canadian Customs.

All the Customs psychopaths who tortured Dziekanski mentally and brought him to the end of his tether, then set the coppers against him, shouldn't be just fired from their jobs, but tried for murder.

But, first of all, who are they? What are their names, ethnicity? Does any one know this?

Agenda for Toronto's Rally....

http://robertdziekanski.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id= 4&Itemid=2

OK, so I just came back from the rally. It was peaceful and good. No gass, no tasers were used, which I am happy to report.
around 400 people attended together with 3 MPs, Polish Congress representative, lots of meia an TV.

i saw it (the rally) via tv polonia on the news about 15mins ago :)

did you see the one in Toronto or the one in Vancouver?

Puzzler = *yawn*

- And what do you mean by that? Do you e.g. mean you sympathise with 'Canadianguy's' utterances?

Able to articulate what you mean?
:)

sometimes actions speak louder than words

- Including Canadians?

An on line book of condolences from people around the world.

http://www.legacy.com/CAN-Vancouver/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=980 84671&PageNo=1

- Thanks.

Welcome. Note the names / locations - Polish descent, "Joe Canadian", Mexico, India etc, etc...

- I'll do straightaway.

Huh? So evey time you want to go on vacation or sth you should learn the language? This makes no sense. You have about as much sense as the weak police officers that used the taser torture.



Since June 2001, there have been more than 270 Taser related deaths in the United States....this isn't normal.

Your guess is as good as mine puzz. I heard them saying this on the video.

Thread attached on merging:
Tazers Claim a Polish Life.

Anyone out there in Cyberpolska happen to catch that chilling report of a certain Robert Dziekański from Gliwice who was stopped by airport security in Vancouver as he was exiting customs? Apparently, he was thought to be acting strangely and was 'tazered' with a stun gun by Royal Canadian security guards. The voltage caused him to have screaming convulsions and he died as a result. I only happened to have caught wind of this through the Polish press ('Nowy Dziennik' and 'Polski Dzień') here in the States.

The story is horrendous!! It also turns out, the gentleman in question, a middle-aged fellow, was travelling alone and spoke not a word of English. Allegedly, he couldn't even understand the near cognate "immigration" when directed by the Canadian airport police.

Reactions?
Marek

dude.. how about reading the forums before posting this again.

Actually of the 250+ people who have died from taser use, it should be noted that 50 people who had died in taser related deaths since 2001 involved police activity.

Refering to your statement, what exactly would be considered normal then? From the hundreds of thousands arrests that require incapacitating a suspect that occur in North America each year, you feel that these taser related deaths are excessive? What is this compared to use of a gun? Or physical takedowns with a baton? From these incidents, how many of them have been raving jacked-up lunatics or murderers that would otherwise have been shot or beaten down? A stat that I would find more interesting is the rate of deaths while arresting suspects prior to the standard use of tasers by police. We can't expect law enforcement from any country to just walk up to a suspect, hand them cuffs and say "please sir, will you put these on".

I am so sad to see toxic elements on this particular forum forcing others to respond.
I wanted to wish you well in your protest as I believe it will help keep the tragedy alive in the media and make sure the RCMP/Border Services are accountable for their actions.

Just as an aside, without immigration to Canada, Canadians would not be where they are today. I am amazed and honoured that some Poles would make the trek to Canada and I love how you have enriched my cultural experience as a Canadian. As I've read in some of the other forums, it's definitely not perfect in Canada, but I think together we can strive for that goal.

Oh, and thank you for the great beer! It has sustained me on many occasions!:-)

this is the other one Seanus.

Thanks Miranda. I have a Polish beer next to me which I'm about to open. I love Polish beer but I miss ur lager/beer Moosehead, I drank it with my Canadian roommate (from Gretna, near Winnipeg, Manitoba) years ago. U also have Labbatts. Is Molson Canadian or American? I know I'm off the thread but it happens. Here's to Moosehead

It is a main stream beer, so is Labbats.
Mooshead is one of many good Canadian beers, but I guess it is a matter of tase when it comes to alcohol.

Cheers!!!!

We should start an international beer thread. I've sampled beers from many countries, seeing it as a good way to pass the time. I don't want to paint the wrong picture, hehehe. I know I'm a Scotsman in Poland n'all but, u know. Molson's is not right up there but it is way more than drinkable and hits the spot when u need it to. U r a Polish Canadian? As for the thread, I heard about this protest but I really gotta read more. I was a prolific reader at Uni but, as they say, that was back in the day. My teaching focusses on Business English, boring at times but necessary. I think this protest shows that Canadians have an awareness of justice, sth I'd associate Canucks with. Canadians are quietly proud and I like that

it is and it used to be one of the most popular ones, but with new, small breweries Canadians had a chance to develope taste for less, but rather interesting tastes. In my young days I went on the tasting tour to Upper Canada brewery and my bike ride back home was a challange of sort. If you come accross Upper Canada Lager or Weat, or Sleemans, or Steamwhistle just to name a few - go for it.
I am a farily receant immigrant born and raised in Poland, of Ukrainian deceant, so my connection to POland is very strong, I speak Polish/ Ukrainina and some English. I used to teach ESL in Poland but returned to Canada to fisnish off my education at Uni - so I know what a prolific reader means ;)
It could be becasue it needs to be more structured when it comes to topics and vocab. I really enjoyed teaching in Poland and I hav enothing but good things to say about Polish students - mos tof thm are very commited.
it used to be much better, but I guess any time is a good time to protest. Canadians care about what happens and are willing to make the changes, however they ar enot as hot headed as other nations, rather a rational sort. There a re a lot of protestant influances here, together with a large group of Scottish diaspora. My best frined is Scottish - good people.
yes, we don't like to bragg too much. Work and shoveling snow is our main occupation, not that I am creating stereotypes.

Hehehe, good posting. Microbreweries u guys call them? Australia has some good ones but I've yet to try the Canadian offerings. I like to experiment with new tastes.

If I may ask, where did u teach in Poland? I teach here in Gliwice, do u know it?

Canadians like to know what's cooking, that's true. That's why ur nation produces a lot of good journalists. I used to love going to the internet cafe in Hiroshima and listening to Canadian radio (CBC?) after a long day's teaching.

Well, shovelling snow is good for the muscles, for a short time anyway.

U mentioned Protestant influences, how do u see those as being different from Catholic influences? I ask bcoz Poland, as u know, is predominantely Catholic