(WikiLeaks) Ocean Lady sparked U.S. fear of Tamil migrant tide

Source: CBC News

The U.S. government carefully watched how Canada dealt with MV Ocean Lady — a boat full of Tamil asylum seekers — which arrived in B.C. in late 2009 and worried it was a sign of more to come, diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal.

The confidential cable, dated Oct. 28, 2009, shows that U.S. officials believed that the Ocean Lady freighter plus a recent surge of Sri Lankans attempting to reach Australia marked "increasing desperation and sophistication" of Tamil migrants hoping to reach Western countries.

"Intense recent efforts by Sri Lankans to reach Western countries by boat reflect individual desperation as well as larger questions about how Tamil minorities — particularly young men — affected by civil conflict perceive their future prospects," the U.S. State Department cable released to CBC News says.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/05/12/wikileaks-ocean-lady-tamil-asylum-seekers.html