Action urgent after Canada court
denial
Last week the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear
appeals from US war resisters seeking refuge. Supporters respond
with nationwide protests, increased political pressure.
Kimberly Rivera: AWOL in Canada
While home on leave, Spc Rivera made the life changing decision that
she would not be returning to Iraq. Instead, she packed
up her family and drove to Canada. This is her story.
New audio interview
project
To start, we bring you the voices of: "TD"
Buonomo, officer discharged for thinking Cheney is a war
criminal; Nathan Burden, AWOL; and Brad
McCall and Ryan Johnson from Canada.
Winter Soldier 2008
In March 2008, Iraq and Afghan vets will gather
in Washington DC to testify to their first hand experiences and reveal
the truth of occupation. They seek support,
testimony and evidence.
Action more urgent after
Canada court denial
Brandi Key, AWOL soldier Joshua Key, and kids seeking refuge in
Canada |
By Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. November 19, 2007
Last week the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear appeals from
US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey seeking refuge in
Canada. The War Resisters
Support Campaign in Canada immediately staged protests in six cities
and announced plans to ramp up pressure for a political solution,
focusing on a forthcoming debate in the Canadian Parliament.
In collaboration with these efforts, Courage to Resist has sent
thousands of letters to Canadian officials on behalf of individual
signers of our “Dear
Canada: Let US War Resisters Stay” appeal. What we do now by
expanding these efforts could make all of the difference for the future
of hundreds of Iraq and Afghan War sanctuary seekers and their families
currently in Canada.
If you have not yet already done so, please
sign the appeal today. Please encourage others to so as
well—either online or by petition
and postcards.
Jeremy Hinzman, with Nga Nguyen and son Liam |
Hinzman and Hughey were among the first Iraq War resisters to arrive
in Canada in 2004. Their case for political refugee status rested on the
fact that the US invasion and occupation is illegal under both US and
international law. Based on the United Nations convention on refugees,
they should not be prosecuted for refusing to fight in an illegal
conflict. Canada’s Immigration Review Board and the Canadian
courts, however, denied a hearing on these facts.
“The immigration board said, with input from the government,
that the illegality of the war is irrelevant to these immigration
claims,” said Michelle Robidoux, a Toronto-based activist.
“We believe it is very much connected."
Gerry Condon deserted the US Army in 1969 and lived in Canada for
three years. Today he travels extensively as part of Project Safe Haven.
“While the refusal of the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the
appeals is very disappointing, the struggle for sanctuary in Canada is
being stepped up. All along, we have known that a political solution was
ultimately what would be needed.” Condon added, “While the
sanctuary campaign ramps up in Canada, we in the US can seize this moment
to become much more supportive.”
Read
complete article
Kimberly Rivera chooses
Canada over unjust war
By Courage to Resist.
November 18, 2007
While home on leave in January 2007, Army Spc Kimberly Rivera made
the life changing decision that she would not be returning to the Iraq
War. Instead, she packed up the family car and drove to Canada with her
husband and two children. She is currently one of about fifty AWOL US war
resisters who are openly seeking sanctuary in Canada. This is her
story.
Kimberly Rivera grew up in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb east of Dallas.
She had never thought of becoming a soldier until she was seventeen and
the Army recruiters visited her home to meet with Kimberly and her
parents. The recruiters offered money for college that her family did not
have. Her mother was supporting Kimberly, her father, and her two sisters
after her father suffered a work related accident. She took an aptitude
test for job placement out of “curiosity”, but later signed up
to be a mechanic. She was given an enlistment date following graduation
for the Army Reserves....
"While in Iraq losing soldiers and civilians was part of daily
life. I was a gate guard. This was looked down on by infantry soldiers
who go out in the streets, but gate guards are the highest security of
the Forward Operation Base. We searched vehicles, civilian personnel, and
military convoys that left and came back every hour. I had a huge
awakening seeing the war as it truly is: people losing their lives for
greed of a nation and the effects on the soldiers who come back with new
problems such as nightmares, anxieties, depression, anger, alcohol abuse,
missing limbs and scars from burns. Some don't come back at all."
"On December 21, 2006 I was going to my room and something in my
heart told me to go call my husband. And when I did 24 rounds of mortars
hit the FOB in a matter of minutes after I got on the phone...the mortars
were 10-15 feet from where I was. I found a hole from the shrapnel in my
room in the plywood window. That night I found the shrapnel on my bed in
the same place where my head would have been if I hadn't changed my plans
and gone to the phone."
She began questioning everything: "Why am I here? What am I
giving my life for? How am I helping my comrades and Iraq's people? What
harm do I see here that would affect the safety of my family back home?
Is what I am doing self-defense or aggression?"
Read
all of Kimberly's story
New Courage to Resist Audio
Interview Project
In launching this new feature, we bring you the voices of:
Thomas “TD” Buonomo -
Although he supported the war in Afghanistan, TJ had serious misgivings
about what the U.S. was doing in Iraq. He began writing e-mails to fellow
officers expressing his views. His command learned about the e-mails,
investigated, and determined that his criticism of Vice President Dick
Cheney constituted a crime under military law. Rather than court-martial
him, the Army discharged him. (photo right)
Nathan Burden - Nathan began to feel that being
ignored and disrespected and used was an all too common experience of
GIs, and at the same time, began to question why the U.S. was sending GIs
to Iraq. After seven months in the military, Nathan went AWOL. In this
interview, he speaks about his disillusionment with the Army.
Brad McCall - Brad determined that he
was a conscientious objector and that he could never participate in the
kind of violence he was hearing about. He applied for conscientious
objector status and was denied. So he chose to go AWOL and make his way
to Canada. (photo right)
Ryan Johnson - Due to the Army's neglect of his
medical problems, along with his growing opposition to the war, Ryan
decided to go AWOL shortly before his unit deployed to Iraq. He
eventually made his way to Canada. Today he lives with his wife Jennifer
in Nelson, British Columbia, where he works with Iraq Veterans Against
the War and the War Resister Support Campaign.
www.couragetoresist.org/audio
Winter Soldier 2008
On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008 Iraq
Veterans Against the War will assemble history's largest gathering of US
veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors.
In Washington DC they will testify to their first hand experiences and
reveal the truth of occupation. They are currently seeking many types of
support to make this happen, and are requesting that Iraq and Afghan
veterans submit testimony and evidence.
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like
the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but
political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated
exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic
brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called
it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous
admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during
difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in
Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But
the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into
increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like
Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war.
Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad
apples" instead of examining the military policies that have
destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our
nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable
for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that
every American needs to hear.
For more information and to sign a statement in support of this
important undertaking:
www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier
Dear Canada: Let U.S. War Resisters
Stay!
Sign the appeal online. We'll mail the letters for you.
www.couragetoresist.org/canada |