If former Liberal candidate Lesley Hughes is an antisemite, then George Bush is Mahatma Gandhi, Stephen Harper is Mother Theresa and Stephane Dion is capable of leading Canada.

Of course, none of the above is true. In dumping Hughes, a well respected Winnipeg journalist and social activist, Dion has buckled under the pressure of the pro-Israel lobby and proven himself incapable of developing independent foreign policy for Canada. How else are we to judge a man who accepts the nonsense that any criticism of Israel, no matter how minor, is antisemitic?

The article that cut short Hughes brief career as a Liberal candidate, Get the Truth, raises a series of questions about the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The sad irony is that the article did not even criticize Israel. Here is what she had to say:

Many official sources are claiming to have warned the American intelligence community, which spends $30 billion a year gathering information, about the attacks on the twin towers on that heartbreaking day.

German Intelligence (BND) claims to have warned the U.S. last June, the Israeli Mossad and Russian Intelligence in August. Israeli businesses, which had offices in the Towers, vacated the premises a week before the attacks, breaking their lease to do it. About 3000 Americans working there were not so lucky.

If anything, Hughes credits Israeli inteligence with attempting to warn the Americans of an impending attack on the Twin Towers, one which they obviously ignored.

Dion’s spinelessness is not unique, unfortunately. It is difficult to find any political leader who is willing to be critical of Israeli policies. In this instance, though, his gutlessness was stupendous, because Hughes did not “blame the Jews” for anything. The point of her article was to raise questions about the genesis of 9-11 and the invasion of Afghanistan. As she put it:

If the work of Internet journalists is correct, then the war is neither a holy war, not a grand clash of civilizations between East and West, and our soldiers were lost to us and to their families to keep drugs and oil profits flowing in the U.S.

Until we know the truth, we should refuse to add one more Canadian body to the pile of dead in Afghanistan. Not one. Canada should get the truth or get out.

Hughes has been unfairly maligned. Fortunately, many Canadians, especially those who are familiar with her and her work refuse to join the witchhunt that has been mounted by right wing media, zionist apologists and barely literate bloggers.

In an online readers poll today, the Winnipeg Free Press asked: “Do you think Liberal leader Stephane Dion was right to turf Lesley Hughes over 9/11 conspiracy writings?” Of the 2,469 readers who have responded to date, 73 percent have said “No.”

Stephane Dione has not done his party any favours in Winnipeg. However, he may have done Lesley Hughes a big favour. Had she succeeded in her election bid, I doubt she would have been happy for long.

Competition for the coveted Corruption Cup is intense, but Afghanistan is proving itself to be a real competitor.

And what, pray tell, is the Corruption Cup? Mainly a figment of my imagination at this point, but I think it could catch on.

Here’s the thing: every year, Transparency International measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption in various countries and compiles a Corruption Perception Index or CPI. The CPI is a composite index, drawing on different expert and business surveys. Countries that score ten are highly clean; countries that score zero are highly corrupt.

Transparency International has been doing this for a number of years. In 2007 it expanded the CPI to look at 180 countries. In 2008, Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden shared the highest, almost unbearably squeaky clean score at 9.3, followed immediately by Singapore at 9.2.

At the other end of the scale was Somalia at 1.0, slightly trailing Iraq and Myanmar at 1.3 and Haiti at 1.4.

However, these bad boys can’t afford to rest on their laurels or wallow in their troughs, if you will. Afghanistan is a serious contender when it comes to challenging for the Corruption Cup and is steadily gaining ground. In 2007, Afghanistan scored 1.8, and ranked an impressive 172 on the CPI. This year, it scored 1.5 and ranks even lower, a stunning 176 out of 180.

In the race to the bottom, Afghanistan is a force to be reckoned with.

Not for nothing did the Afghan Parliament, last year, expel reform-oriented MP Malalai Joya from Parliament for three years. She got their dander up when she called these warlords and drug lords, well, warlords and drug lords. And the Taliban, the government and the US are duking it out to see who can kill, imprison or harrass the most journalists. They show great promise, and NATO stands by to help.

Obama has promised more troops for Afghanistan, and Harper is determined to stay the course until 2011 (and longer if we are dumb enough to give him his majority — but I digress).

Can more war help Afghanistan win the Corruption Cup? Probably. Look what it has done for Iraq? And let’s not forget how we helped Haiti achieve its score when we helped the Americans turf Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the first honest leader Haiti had for decades.

Jeremy Hinzman, his wife Nga Nguyen and their children.

War resister Jeremy Hinzman, who was to have been deported today, received an 11th-hour reprieve yesterday when Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley granted a stay of removal. Hinzman will be permitted to remain in Canada until the Federal Court has had the opportunity to determine whether he should be permitted to remain on humanitarian grounds.

This is very good news for everyone who opposes the war in Iraq (82 percent of Canadians and 65 percent of Americans) and for the 64% of Canadians who want Canada to welcome war resisters. As well, it represents one more repudiation of the Tory’s knee-jerk support for America’s wars.

There is another angle to this that deserves a second look — the story, itself, may represent a shift in the way media in Canada are beginning to frame this issue. In the Canadian Press article that appeared yesterday, Hinzman was described in the lead paragraph as a “war dodger.” This is new. Customarily, American war resisters have been described in the press as “deserters” — a term which conjures up images of cowardice and disloyalty to one’s country.

“Dodgers” are different. Dodgers are people who have made a moral choice to refuse to fight in an immoral war. Canadians remember that in the 1960s and ’70’s we welcomed 30,000 American “draft dodgers,” many of whom remained to become cherished friends, neighbours and fellow citizens. We like dodgers.

I don’t want to make too much of this; it could have been a momentary journalistic hiccup. However, words have power and language is important. While I would prefer that media accounts portrayed Hinzman and his like-minded brothers and sisters as “war resisters” rather than “deserters” I’ll accept “war dodger” for the moment and hope it signals a shift in media consciousness.

Hinzman’s reprieve does not signal an end to the struggle. Much remains to be done. Contact the War Resisters Support Campaign and see what you can do to help.

Peace activists occupy Tory election campaign office in Winnipeg, Sept. 20, 2008 to focus attention on deportation of American war resister Jeremy Hinzman. Photo: Paul Graham

(Winnipeg, Sept. 20, 2008) Anti-war activists peacefully occupied the campaign office of federal Conservative candidate Trevor Kennerd to focus attention on the planned deportation of American Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman and his family to the United States. The occupation began at 10:00 AM Central Time today.

The protestors intend to continue their nonviolent occupation until Hinzman’s deportation, expected Sept. 23, is stayed, or until they are compelled to leave.

Jeremy Hinzman moved to Canada in early 2004 to avoid military service in what he believes is an unjust, unlawful war. His application for refugee status was rejected and he is scheduled to be deported September 23.

Organizers fear Hinzman will face a fate similar to that of war resister Robin Long who was deported from earlier this year and subsequently court-martialed and sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Hinzman is one of thirteen American war resisters in whose cases have been championed by the War Resisters Support Campaign.

Canadians have repeatedly expressed their support for Iraq war resisters. On June 3, 2008, a motion was adopted by the House of Commons in favour of allowing resisters to stay in Canada, and calling on the federal government to cease deportation proceedings. A recent poll by Angus Reid found that two-thirds of Canadians support letting US war resisters stay.

Despite this, the federal government has refused to allow war resisters to remain in Canada. This is in sharp contrast to the Vietnam War era during which then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau declared: “Canada should be a refuge from militarism” and 30,000 to 40,000 war resisters found refuge in Canada.

“The American war on Iraq has caused the deaths of an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis. Refugees number more than 4 million. American war resisters are refusing to participate in these crimes and that is why we are supporting them,” said spokesperson Michael Welch, one of the participants in the sit-in.

Welch added that polls taken in 2008 show that 82 percent of Canadians and 65 percent of Americans oppose the war in Iraq.

What you can do

Call Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Immigration Diane Finley to demand:
• that they stop the deportation of Jeremy Hinzman and his family;
• that they respect the democratic will of Parliament and implement the War Resisters motion.

Stephen Harper:
Campaign office: 1-403-266-4451
Constituency office: 1-403-253-7990

Diane Finley, Minister of Immigration:
Campaign office: 1-519-429-3382
Constituency office: 1-519-426-3400

Vic Toews, Senior Manitoban MP and Cabinet Minister:
Campaign office: 1-204-346-7710
Constituency office: 1-204-326-9889

Sitting Winnipeg MPs:

Go to Manitoba Conservative Candidates: Make sure to link to the candidate’s web site for current number. Call them and let them know that peace and human rights are election issues.

Show up at Town Halls and Forums, phone into radio shows. The media are inviting people to submit questions for the October 2nd televised debate. Send your question to question@electiondebate08.ca

CBC TV wants election story ideas. Contact them here.

War resister supporter Michael Welch sits in Tory candidate Trevor Kennerd’s campaign headquarters, Sept. 20, 2008. Photo: Paul Graham

Source: crossposted from Peace Alliance Winnipeg

The Afghan war will cost Canadians more than $22 billion, both in actual money spent on the war and future payments to rebuild equipment and provide long-term care for veterans.

We have the Tories and the Liberals to thank for this shameful misuse of our resources. The Liberals got us into this mess, and then they voted with the Tories to keep us there until at least the end of 2011. Ninety-seven Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have lost their lives; many more have returned physically and psychologically crippled.

All of this in the name of fighting a war against terrorism and liberating the Afghan people. The war on terror is a sham. NATO (including Canada) are the real terrorists in this war. And the Afghan people are much worse off than they were before we “rescued” them.

According to the Canadian Peace Alliance:

• Civilian Deaths from NATO air strikes tripled between 2006 and 2007. Over 6,500 civilians were killed in 2007—the highest total since 2001.
• Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned NATO bombings because they generate support for the Taliban.
• Canada continues to send Afghan detainees to the Afghan National Police (ANP) despite the fact that they torture and murder detainees.
• More than 60% of Afghan Parliamentarians are known drug-lords and warlords who continue to commit human rights abuses against Afghan civilians.
• Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, honour killings of women for “crimes” such as adultery have increased. The Afghan government is not enforcing new laws meant to protect women.
• According to the UN living conditions in Afghanistan are worse than in 2001.
• 6.6 million Afghans don’t meet minimum food requirements.
• Half of all Afghan children are malnourished.
• Every 28 minutes an Afghan women dies in childbirth.
• Over 70% of Afghans have no access to clean water.
• Literacy rates continue to drop, now at 23.5%.
• NATO spends more than 90% of its budget on the military with less than 10% going to reconstruction.

The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois voted against the Tory-Liberal motion to extend the Canadian “mission.” I’m not sure where the Bloc stands on ending Canada’s military intervention. However, a vote for the NDP is a vote to bring our troops home.

On that basis alone the NDP deserves our support. And if the majority of Canadians who oppose extending Canada’s military intervention to 2011 support the NDP in this election, the NDP will clearly be able to fulfill their promise. For those of us who want to end Canada’s support for this imperialist war there is really only one choice in this election.

The Canadian Peace Alliance is offering the above graphic for download in a window-sign format; You can also get it in a post-card format by contacting the CPA at cpa@web.ca or calling 416-588-5555. (The CPA is requesting a donation to help cover the costs of the printing and distribution of the postcards.)

Dear Jack,

Canada lost its 97th soldier in Afghanistan today. I hope you will put opposition to this war and withdrawal of our troops front and centre in this election campaign. The best way to “support our troops” is to bring them home. I am tired of Tory and Liberal lies about the “humanitarian” nature of Canada’s military intervention. I am counting on you to tell the truth and to rally Canadians to opposing this imperialist war.

Canada needs an independent foreign policy that supports genuine peace in the world. Please do not succumb to the advice of your advisors to run an Obama-style campaign of vague, feel good platitudes. Canadians are not brain dead and will respond to the truth if you tell it.

Best regards,
Paul Graham
Winnipeg, MB

My Friend,

Well this is it! Stephen Harper just quit his job as Prime Minister. Today, I’m applying for that job.

Yes, I’m running to be the Prime Minister that puts you and your family first.

I want this to be your campaign. I want you to be a part of it, starting today.

Click here to listen to a special election message to you. And I hope you make one of the first donations to this crucial campaign. Whether it’s a $25 donation or a maximum donation of $1100– your immediate support is so important.

It’s true. Over the next 37 days, you and I will bring about change that’ll take us forward, not backward.

Stephen Harper listens to the boardroom tables, not the kitchen tables. Now you can elect a Prime Minister that’ll put you and your family first.

Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done. Listen to my message to you and donate today.

Jack

Let me be the first Winnipegger to apologise for the latest part my town is playing in the planned murder of incalcuable numbers of men, woman and children around the world.

“The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program, formerly the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) Program, is the Department of Defense\’s focal point for defining affordable next generation strike aircraft weapon systems for the Navy, Air Force, Marines, and our allies.” Source: Joint Strike Fighter Program

The big news in the Peg this afternoon is the federal government’s $43.4 million loan to Bristol Aerospace of Winnipeg, part of a $120 million upgrade that will allow Bristol to help develop the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, this investment could yield $3 billion in revenue over the next 25-30 years.

According to the merchants of death managing this program, its financial backers include include the UK ($2 billion), Italy ($1 billion), Netherlands ($800 million), Turkey ($175 million), Canada ($150 million), Australia ($150 million), Denmark ($125 million) and Norway ($125 million).

While there will be those in this country who are disappointed that our contribution trails behind that of Turkey, I think we have lots to be ahamed of, nonetheless. And lest you be tempted to put all of the blame on the Tories because of its sweetheart loan to Bristol, remember that the peace-loving Liberals signed on to the program in 2002. There’s shame to share and shame to spare. (If you want an indepth analysis of Canada’s death merchants, go to the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade.)

The Winnipeg Free Press article didn’t hazard a guess as to how many people would be killed by U.S. and NATO air forces after it is deployed. However, if you click on the logo, below, you can get a qualitative feel for the impact of this lethal, yet affordable next-gen killing machine.

Are you one of those Netniks who can’t resist sharing the fruits of your meanderings on the Internet with friends, family, comrades and co-conspirators?

I know I am, or could be, if I didn’t restrain myself.

I troll the the Net most days and rarely come away from these fishing expeditions without something substantial. Knowing that my friends do not necessarily share my enthusiasm (and wanting them to remain friends), I restrict my mass emailing to periodic “spams in a good cause.”

But I gotta tell ya, it ain’t always easy to hold back. So, in no particular order, here is a recent compilation of stuff on various subjects that I have found either interesting, enjoyable or enlightening.

Please feel free to recommend some of your personal faves.

“If it is true that a man who raises his fist is a man who has run out of ideas, then it is clear that the Bush-Cheney foreign policy has been mentally bankrupt from the start.”

-James McEnteer, Death by Paranoia (Counterpunch, Aug. 25, 2008)

	These Weapons of Mass Destruction cannot be displayed
The weapons you are looking for are currently unavailable. The country might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your weapons inspectors mandate.

More . . .

“It is not merely that the justice system has failed Aboriginal people; justice also has been denied to them. For more than a century the rights of Aboriginal people have been ignored and eroded. The result of this denial has been injustice of the most profound kind. Poverty and powerlessness have been the Canadian legacy to a people who once governed their own affairs in full self-sufficiency.”

–Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba (1991)

– Tales of Iraq War by Latuff, August 26, 2008

“Peasant farmers offer the best chance of feeding the world. So why do we treat them with contempt?”

-George Monbiot, Small is Bountiful, June 10, 2008

“The drip you hear is a reminder of the continuing toll of war and violence in the world. May we remember to be peaceful and to work for peace.”

-Source: A Red Line Connects Us

“At the moment, there are between 10,000 and 11,000 Palestinian prisoners languishing in various Israeli jails. This is a figure that has remained consistently high since the beginning of the Israeli occupation 41 years ago. The total number of Palestinians to have spent time in Israeli prison is estimated at 700,000, roughly one-fifth of the current Palestinian population of the occupied territories.”

-Ghassan Khatib, Empty gestures will not help Abbas, Aug. 26, 2008

” . . . we’re all Manchurian candidates.”

-Tom Burghardt, Defense Intelligence Agency Seeking “Mind Control” Weapons, Aug. 24, 2008

“. . . the [U.S.] Army’s own studies show that only 3 in 10 people ages 17 to 24 are eligible to enlist, with the remainder barred by health or legal issues, or the failure to earn a high school diploma or equivalent.”

-Susanne M. Schafer, The Army Opens Prep Schools for Dropouts, Associated Press, August 27, 2008

“While soy is increasingly promoted as a healthy alternative to animal products in the North, the soy industry is destroying homes, livelihoods, health and the environment across South America.”

-Angela Day, Big Soy: The Underside of the Industry, Canadian Dimension, July/August 2008

Dear Jack,

With the coming election, I’m sure you are reading all the polls with great interest. So, I imagine you know, better that most, that in the most recent poll on Canada’s military intevention is Afghanistan (July 10, 2008), 58% disagreed with the decision to keep fighting until 2011. The percentage of Canadians supporting the war (36%), has declined, and corresponds with the level of Tory support reported by Ipsos Canada on August 19.

Support for the Liberals (30%) and the NDP (14%) was unchanged, while the Green party polled 10%, down from 11%, according to Reuters.

I’m not sure where the Bloc Quebecois figures in this latest poll, but other polls put them nationally at 8% and make them the clear leader in Quebec, where they have polled 30% to 40% throughout 2008.

Sadly, if the outcome of the expected election corresponds to polling numbers, the pro-war parties (Liberals, Conservatives) will prevail and the Canadian misadventure (I’m overly kind here — strike that — the Canadian crime against humanity) in Afghanistan will continue unchecked.

Earlier this year the Tories and the Libs voted to extend the war to 2011. To their credit, the NDP and the Bloc voted against this motion. The NDP has long called for withdrawal of our troops. Goodonya!

Shamefully, the Greens probably would have voted with the majority in Parliament if they could have. The Green Policy on Afghanistan is a hopelessly naive, goody two-shoes piece of drivel; it’s clear they do not understand that the invasion was driven by American strategic interests and that ANY continued Canadian military involvement is criminal.

Jack, for those of us who oppose the war, the projected outcome of the election is depressing. Our tax dollars and our soldiers will continue to kill thousands of Afghans; our troops will continue to come home dead, injured, and psychologically damaged. Grieving families will suffer for decades. Billions of dollars will be diverted from Canada’s social programs. There will be no winners.

It does not have to be this way. But for things to change, Canadians will have to set aside some bad habits, such as voting Liberal because they can’t stand the Tories and the NDP. Canucks of the Green persuasion will have to ask themselves whether Canadian complicity in imperialism, however compassionately expressed, really reflects their values.

For this to happen, the NDP has to put the war on the front-burner.

That is where you come in, Jack. The war is a hot-button issue, but you would never know it when you visit the federal NDP homepage. A casual visitor could be forgiven for thinking the NDP’s top priorities are text messaging, Facebook and Flickr. While the party is on record as opposing the war, you have to search to find anything substantial.

Afghanistan is THE defining issue in the coming election, Jack. You need to remember that and hammer the point home at every opportunity.

Don’t be bashful, Jack. The majority of Canadians are with you on this one.

Promise to bring our troops home, now. Promise to work for peace in Afghanistan and around the world. Promise to channel humanitarian aid to Afghanistan that doesn’t support the Karzai gang. Promise to invest serious dollars in supporting the soldiers and families in Canada who have been destroyed by this war. Promise to end this disaster before it grows even larger.

These are dangerous times, Jack. I’m with you on the environment, but I fear a nuclear war more.  Pull Canada’s navy out of the Arabian sea. Denounce the “war on terror” for the sham that it is. Oppose the plans for war with Iran. Canada has to take a stand against militarism and for peace, and you can make it happen. You must.

For all of our sakes, don’t let us down.

Sincerely,

Paul Graham
Winnipeg, MB

Sgt. Shawn Eades, Cpl. Dustin Roy Robert Joseph Wasden and Sapper Stephan John Stock were killed by an IED on Thursday, August 21, 2008. Their deaths bring to 93 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. As is their custom, Canada’s political leaders wrapped their corpses in bloody lies and tired platitudes.

“Today, all of Canada mourns the deaths of three brave soldiers killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement. “These soldiers made an important contribution to international efforts in Afghanistan aimed at creating the conditions necessary for reconstruction and development efforts to flourish in a country ravaged by decades of war and despotism.”

“Canada and our NATO allies are making a profound difference in the lives of the Afghan people,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay also said in a statement Thursday. “Despite this tragic event, we remain undeterred in our mission to help Afghans rebuild their country.”

Bullshit!

What a load of crap! Their deaths will do nothing to repair the ravages of “decades of war and despotism.” If anything, the war will only prolong it.

These soldiers (and the people they kill) are being sacrificed to shore up an irredeemably feudal, reactionary government of warlords and drug runners who are every bit as nasty as the Taliban regime they replaced.

Apologists for the war insist that the NATO forces are making a positive difference in the lives of ordinary Afghans. They remind us that the government of Hamid Karzai was elected, that girls are being allowed to go to school, that life is getting better.

Read some of these stories and explain, please, how Afghan life is improving.

PAN: 50 civilians were killed and many residential houses were destroyed on Wednesday night in coalition air strike in Shindand district of western Herat province. The young boy who wounded in the bombardment. (Photo: PAJHWOK/Ahmad Quraishi)

The Canadian government, when it gets around to admitting that we kill civilians, will issue regrets, remind us that the Taliban terrorists kill civilians all the time and even pay compensation. Reporting in the National Post earlier this year, Tom Blackwell wrote:

The federal government has paid out tens of thousands of dollars in compensation to Afghans who have been hurt, killed or had property wrecked by Canadian troops in the past two years, internal documents obtained by the National Post indicate.

The list of reparations paid by the middle of last year includes five cases of civilians injured or killed at the hands of Canadian troops and three friendly-fire deaths of Afghan soldiers or police.

Compensation for deaths ranged from about $2,000 to almost $9,000, according to Justice Department claims reports, obtained under the Access to Information Act but censored of much personal and other information. None of the claims dealt with damage from air strikes called in by Canadian troops.

Apologists will sigh that civilian casualties are regrettable but unavoidable aspect of war, but that we’ve got to keep our eyes on the prize: a free and democratic Afghanistan where the current horrors will be justified by future happy outcomes.

Afghans aren’t impressed by this. Here is what the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan had to say, March 8, 2008, about the current regime:

The true nature of the US “war on terror” drama has been exposed today and we witness that they are killing thousands of our innocent people under the name of “fighting terrorists” while on the other hand they are busy in dealing with the barbaric fascist Taliban trying to gloss some of them as “moderates” in order to share power with them. These treacherous acts of demagogy have revealed it once again to our people and to the world that the US government and its allies were just pursuing their strategic, economic and political gains in Afghanistan and pushing our people to increasing destitution and disasters. Installing the “Northern Alliance” brutal warlords on power and changing Afghanistan into the center of the world drug mafia, have been the first and foremost objectives of their wrong policies.

RAWA from the very first days stated that no country will grant freedom and democracy to another country and today this reality is evident to all. The US disguised the dead rats of yesterday with suits and ties thus released them like wild wolves on our people and are doing nothing about the current crimes, violation of human rights, looting of millions dollars of aid by warlords and corrupt NGOs. If the billions of dollars of aid directed in the name of reconstruction were not poured in the pockets of criminals in the parliament and cabinet, natural hazards like freezing winter would have not taken so many lives today. Even if a small portion of that money was spent for the relief of people, the life conditions of our miserable people, particularly women would have not been so tragic.

RAWA has been fighting for human rights in Afghanistan since 1977. They want us to leave so the people of Afghanistan can solve their own problems, free of foreign interference. They know the danger they face and they believe we are only making matters worse. We should listen to them.

Still not convinced?

Still not convinced? Well, here are some more stories that show what RAWA is fighting and what our soldiers are dying to maintain.

• Blaming the victim: Abused Afghan women often end up in jail: “Trafficked across the border from Pakistan with her 3-year-old son, Rukhma was handed to an Afghan who raped and abused her, then beat the toddler to death as she watched helplessly. He was jailed for 20 years for murder, but Rukhma . . . was given a four-year sentence on Dec. 5 for adultery and “escaping her house” in Pakistan, even though she says she was kidnapped and raped. The fall of the Taliban six years ago heralded new rights for Afghan women: to go to school or get a job, and be protected under the law. Women’s rights are now enshrined in the constitution. Yet except for a small urban elite, a woman fleeing domestic violence or accusing a man of rape herself often ends up the guilty party in the eyes of judges and prosecutors.”
• The Afghan women jailed for being victims of rape: “. . . the teenager had been married at a young age to an abusive husband and ran away with a boy from her neighbourhood . . . Ostracised from her family and village, Saliha was convicted of escaping from home and illegal sexual relations. The first carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, the second 20. These are two of the most common accusations facing female prisoners in Afghanistan. Two-thirds of the women in Lashkar Gah’s medieval-looking jail have been convicted of illegal sexual relations, but most are simply rape victims – mirroring the situation nationwide. The system does not distinguish between those who have been attacked and those who have chosen to run off with a man.”
• Childhood ends at 11 for some Afghan girls; for others, an education begins:” . . . Girls as young as 11 are considered just old enough for a husband. Their parents collect lucrative $10,000 dowries from wealthy grooms-to-be, and these pre-teens are sent off to become housewives and start raising families. Last year 60 Kandahar girls sought to escape their fate through suicide, provincial officials say. Like Sher, many wound up as hospital burn victims after dousing themselves with gasoline and setting themselves ablaze . . .”

Shahnaz,14, sits on the floor of her family home November 17, 2006 in Herat, Afghanistan. She tried to commit suicide a year ago practically crippling herself from the severe burns after her father lost her in a gambling match. She spent a year in the Herat hospital. The medical staff at the Herat hospital says that they have registered around 700 self-immolation cases so far this year. (Photo by Paula Bronstein)

Do something useful

RAWA wants us to leave — not because they support the Taliban — they clearly do not. They want us to leave because we are not helping Afghans; worse, we are an obstacle to them solving their numerous problems.

RAWA operates schools, orphanages, a hospital and a health clinic. Canadians who truly want to help should demand that Canada withdraw its military and provide financial support to an organization that truly works for human rights and women’s liberation in Afghanistan. And given that it is unlikely that the Canadian government is prepared to do so, we should send financial support directly to RAWA for their humanitarian programs.

• Contact your MP, here. Tell them we are tired of bloody lies and tired platitudes.
  

• Send financial support to RAWA, here. They really need our help. Please don’t delay.