A group of U.S. military veterans, disturbed by the Conservative government's plans to deport two more Iraq War resisters, is sending an open letter to the Canadian people.
"This is a Thanksgiving letter that I will deliver to the Canadian Embassy in Washington this afternoon," says Elliott Adams, President of Veterans For Peace. "We want to thank the Canadian people for opening their hearts and their homes to young Americans of conscience. As veterans who served our country, we are proud of the war resisters," continued Adams. "What they are doing is not easy. It takes a lot of courage."
Patrick Hart, a former sergeant, was told on Wednesday to leave Canada by October 30 or face deportation. Hart served for nine years in the U.S. military, including a tour in the Middle East as part of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." When ordered to Iraq in 2005, he moved to Toronto with his wife Jill and their young son, who suffers from epilepsy. Hart is requesting that his departure date be moved back to January 1, so that his son, Rian, now in first grade, can complete his first semester.
Iraq War resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Kimberly Rivera, who are facing possible deportation, are also parents of young children.
Robin Long, the first Iraq War resister to be deported from Canada (in July), is now serving a 15-month sentence in a U.S. military prison. In an interview published in the United States today, Long says he was assaulted several times in British Columbia jails after being unlawfully arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency . See the article at www.soldiersayno.blogspot.com.
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