Last week, Canadians learned that a Canadian citizen had been kidnapped and murdered in Iraq. Zaid Meerwali, who held dual citizenship, had been in Iraq pursuing a business venture. He was abducted on august 2 and executed 12 days later. according to his brother, he had been kidnapped by men dressed as Iraqi police officers and held for ransom. Munir Meerwali said that his brother was chosen because he was a Canadian, Kurdish, a Shia and wealthy" all things that would make him hated by those who are lovingly and respectfully referred to as "insurgents".
Prime Minister Paul Martin issued condolences to Meerwali’s family and then went on to describe the murder as "barbaric". as is the norm for his Liberal government, Martin is quite content to leave the fighting this barbarism to others. In typical Canadian fashion, Martin fights terrorism by holding hugfests with a bunch of Canadian imams.
The way that the government of Canada reacted to Meerwali’s kidnapping and subsequent murder was different than the way they handle the deaths of Canadians in other parts of the world. Shortly after Meerwali’s death, Daniel Therrien, of Ste-adele Quebec, was murdered in Haiti. He was shot to death last Friday while attempting to flee from kidnappers in Port-au-Prince. after Therrien was killed, the Department of Foreign affairs, through parliamentary secretary, Dan McTeague, issued the type of travel advisory for Haiti that is normally made when incidents such as this occurred. McTeague advised Canadians to stay away from Haiti unless travel to that country "was absolutely necessary".
But the Martin/McTeague statements in regards to Iraq went further than this. Martin told all Canadians who are currently in Iraq to leave, regardless of their reasons for being in the country. McTeague went further adding that even humanitarian workers currently in that country should leave as well.
No doubt that the Canadian government, through Fearful Leader, are trying to save the lives of Canadians. But if saving lives was the only, or even a major reason for telling Canadians to leave a certain place, Martin and Foreign affairs would be advising young black Canadian males not to travel to the Jane/Finch area of Toronto; at least until the government can stabilize the area by passing laws that will actually curb the gun violence that currently plagues that area of the city.
No, when it comes to Iraq, there is politics involved. In reacting to Meerwali’s death, Martin said, "Canada vehemently condemns this barbaric crime, and remains committed to working both bilaterally and multilaterally to help build a prosperous and peaceful democracy in Iraq." In other words, individual Canadians like Zaid Meerwali and humanitarian workers have no place in the rebuilding of Iraq; all that should be left to Canada and the United Nations who will do as good a job in Iraq as they have done in saving lives in Rwanda and the Sudan.
Travel advisories are good for tourists who may want to holiday in what they think is an idyllic vacation spot while they are totally unaware of political changes that pose a danger in paradise. But this was not the case with Zaid Meerwali. as the National Post pointed out in an editorial, Meerwali was not a curiosity-seeker who went to a dangerous place because he did not know any better. The Post ended its editorial by saying, "our Prime Minister should raise his voice in indignation, not wag his finger."
Exactly. Zaid Meerwali should be praised for his efforts and his dedication in wanting to help to rebuild the country of his birth. He should not be, in effect, referred to as if he was an idiot for going to such a dangerous place. He should not be treated as if he was too dumb to realize that Iraq was a dangerous place and he didn’t know what he was doing when he went back. and more important, he should not be marginalized because his actions were not something that the government of Canada would ever do.
It’s an overused cliché, but telling Canadians who are in or who plan to go to Iraq to turn tail and run means the terrorists have won. Martin and his government should be ashamed of themselves for the way that they have portrayed Zaid Meerwali.