U.S. War resisters in Canada need
our help
Hundreds of AWOL GI's are currently living in
Canada, many already having served in Iraq. With the support of
many Canadians, they are struggling to create a home and a sanctuary.
"Where is the rage?" asks
Iraq veteran
Army National Guard Spc. Justin Cliburn declares, "No, I
am not going back to participate in that war."
How Private Hess resisted Iraq
War
After his conscientious objector discharge was denied, Derek Hess
threatened to kill himself if deployed—and he was serious about
it.
March on Washington DC this
Saturday
Message from Dahlia
Wasfi,
M.D.
Iraqi American peace and justice activist. Please donate.
U.S. War resisters in
Canada
need our help
Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, resisters fighting to remain
in Canada. Photo: Andre Souroujon |
By Gerry Condon.
September 12, 2007
Thousands of young men and women are AWOL from the U.S. military.
Away Without Official Leave. Also known as “deserters.” But
they are not AWOL from their own consciences. And they have not deserted
their moral upbringings or the law. Quite to the contrary. At
considerable personal risk and inconvenience, they have made a
conscientious decision to separate themselves from an illegal and
immoral
war. They are our antiwar heroes. They very much deserve our support.
And
they very much need it.
A couple hundred AWOL GI’s are currently living in Canada.
They
are from the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force. Many of them served
one tour in Iraq and then refused to go back again. Instead, they and
their families have moved to Canada. With the support of many Canadians,
they are struggling to create a home for themselves and a sanctuary for
war resisters.
Nearly fifty of the resisters have asked Canadian authorities to
allow them to remain in Canada as political refugees. They strongly
believe they are doing the right thing by refusing to fight in an
illegal
war. They look to UN refugee law, which states that soldiers should be
considered as refugees if they face persecution for refusing to fight in
wars that are “widely condemned by the international community as
contrary to standards of human conduct.”
These absentee GI’s are upholding the Nuremberg Principles,
which were adopted as U.S. law after World War II. By refusing to fight
in illegal wars or to commit war crimes, they are exercising their
rights
and responsibilities as soldiers.
Tell
the Canadian government: Let them stay!
It is urgent that everyone who supports the right of US war
resisters to stay in Canada immediately contact both Prime Minister
Stephen Harper and Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Diane
Finley
and request that they make a provision to allow U.S. war resisters to
stay
in Canada.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Fax: 613-941-6900
Email pm@pm.gc.ca
Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Diane
Finley
Phone: 613-954-1064
(between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.)
Email: Minister@cic.gc.ca
For more information or to donate to the vital work of the
War Resisters Support Campaign in Canada, visit their
website at www.resisters.ca. |
So far, the war resisters’ refugee claims have been rejected
by
the political appointees on Canada’s refugee boards, who say that
war resisters had legal avenues in the U.S. they could have pursued.
They
say that prosecution for being AWOL does not amount to
“persecution.” They are reluctant to call the U.S. war
"illegal."
But the war resisters are fighting for their rights and for
international law. They are appealing in Canada’s federal court
system. The first two U.S. war resisters to apply for refugee status,
Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, have asked the Supreme Court of
Canada
to hear their appeals. Their lawyer, Jeffry House, is optimistic that the
Supreme Court will overturn the negative decisions of the refugee board
and the lower courts that have upheld them. In November, the Supreme
Court will decide whether or not to hear the war resisters’
appeals.
But Canadians are not waiting for the Supreme Court decision. Tens
of thousands of them have signed a petition calling on their government
to create a sanctuary policy for U.S. war resisters. The War Resisters
Support Campaign, with support from organizations like the Canadian
Labour Congress and the United Church of Canada, are helping war
resisters in cities all across Canada.
Now is the time for people in the U.S. to make their voices heard.
Tell the Canadian government that our war resisters need and deserve a
safe haven in Canada. The Canadian people and government said no to the
Iraq War. And, according to a recent poll, they are saying yes to war
resisters. Now it is time for the Canadian government to do the right
thing.
Read
this report and view new video
"Where is the
rage?" asks Iraq War veteran
Justin Cliburn joins anti-war march in St. Louis 8/19/07
following
Vets for Peace convention. Photo: Jeff Paterson for Courage to Resist
|
By Army National Guard Spc. Justin Cliburn. September 10, 2007
I had drill this weekend. Drill has been a forever-evolving
presence
in my life for the past six years. I went from looking forward to drill
to
hating it to missing it while I was in Iraq and back to looking forward
to
it when I returned. I used to hate drill, but found myself liking the
weekends where I was reunited with those that I spent a year with in
Iraq. Over the past few months, that has turned into dread, and I am
questioning whether or not I can remain an effective member of the
military.
Over the course of our many bullshit sessions at drill, the topic of
Iraq inevitably came up. We exchanged stories and shared laughs as the
new
guys who didn't deploy looked on with wonder. Stories about clandestine
drunken nights, the anger that comes with being kicked out of the chow
hall for being sweaty, and getting to the point where you ignore gunfire
took up most of the time, but not all of the stories were so innocent.
The same set of soldiers that in 2005 said they couldn't wait to kill
"ragheads" were now bragging about times they scared Iraqis,
bent the rules of engagement, and generally enjoyed playing bully for a
year. I like these guys a lot, but I don't know why I was surprised. I
had thought that maybe being there for a year would eventually change
them and open their eyes to how their actions were inhumane, but I was
wrong.
Someone who had not deployed before asked if we would go again.
"In a heartbeat!" one soldier replied. Others assured him that
they would have no problem going back. Now, the eyes were on me.
"No, I am not going back to participate in that war."
Read
Justin's complete story
How Private Derek Hess
resisted the Iraq War
Derek Hess and girlfriend Tara |
Courage to Resist.
September 12, 2007
Derek Hess is an Army veteran who was recently discharged after
resisting deployment to Iraq. While tens of thousands of servicepersons
have simply gone AWOL in the last few years, Derek’s story is one
of
nearly infinite versions of passive-aggressive resistance. He ended up
with a medical discharge, under honorable conditions. After his
conscientious objector discharge was denied, Derek threatened to kill
himself if deployed—and he was serious about it.
"Like most veterans, I believe that the war in Iraq is an
illegal, lying, and immoral war," says Derek summing up his
opposition to deploying. “By refusing to fight this war, I believe
I upheld the US constitution by refusing to participate in actions that
could possibly open me up to a court martial for war crimes. And I
believe it is my choice as a human being to deny my participation in the
slaughter of innocent human beings.”...
Derek came to believe that the real purpose of the war is to
"keep
rich people rich," and his conscience would not allow him to fight
in
such a war. In January of 2007, he applied for conscientious objector
status. Like most applicants, his application was denied....
He told his superiors "that I would kill myself if I was sent to
Iraq—so there would be no way I could used as a weapon of mass
destruction for the US government." Because Derek had a history of
anxiety and depression induced by his experiences in the military, the
Army took his threat seriously, had him examined by a psychiatrist and
ultimately discharged him for "failure to adapt" to the
military. He ended up with a medical discharge that’s classified
as
“honorable in character.”
Although his family doesn’t understand his actions, “I can
talk to them till I'm blue in the face, I don’t think they realize
what is really happening,” his girlfriend Tara offers, “I
think what Derek did was not an act of cowardice but of being extremely
brave. By speaking out, and refusing to fight in an illegal war,
rejecting an illegal order from his highest ranking superiors, he did
what was right."
"...My plans now include being active to bringing my brothers and
sisters home—those that were not as lucky as I was. I want to be
part of the anti-war movement, and I hope others will have the courage
to
resist and say NO to Iraq.”
Read
Derek's complete story
A message from Dahlia
Wasfi, M.D.
Dahlia Wasfi, M.D.
|
Iraqi American peace and justice activist
May God bless the troops with the courage to resist and their brave
supporters. These young men and women, with a wisdom far beyond their
years, are the key to ending the U.S.-led genocide in Iraq. Their
credibility and strength is irrefutable. Let them lead us to justice. In
solidarity with Iraq Veterans Against the War and Courage to Resist.
Please make a donation
to support the work of Courage to Resist. |