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TechnoratiCanada To Evict US Deserter
1st soldier to head north to avoid Iraq war loses refugee bid, mulls plea to Federal Court
American war resister Jeremy Hinzman has been ordered out of the country after a four-year legal battle to earn a home in Canada.
A U.S. Army deserter, Hinzman was the first post-Vietnam War resister to file for refugee status when he arrived in Canada in January 2004 while fleeing a scheduled deployment to Iraq.
Several bumps in the road later, he received a deportation order yesterday from the Canada Border Services Agency after an immigration officer rejected a pair of his last-ditch attempts to remain in the country.
He and his family have been ordered to leave by Sept. 23.
"I'm tremendously disappointed," Hinzman said yesterday, apparently fighting back tears following the decision. "(But) life goes on and we'll make the most of it wherever we end up."
Friends and family joined Hinzman yesterday morning outside the Mississauga offices of the border services agency where he received the decision.
His wife, Nga Nguyen, cradled the couple's three-week-old daughter, Meghan, while their 6-year-old son, Liam, smiled and ran around in circles as his father hugged crying supporters.
A native of Rapid City, S.D., Hinzman joined the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division in January 2001.
He fled to Canada in 2004, just weeks after learning of his scheduled deployment to Iraq to fight in a war he says is both illegal and immoral.
After his initial refugee application was denied in March 2005, Hinzman launched a series of court appeals, all of which were rejected. A bid to take his case to the Supreme Court was rejected in November 2007.
Yesterday's decision slammed the door on two of his remaining options to stave off deportation - a pre-removal risk assessment and a humanitarian and compassionate review.
Either could have seen him granted permanent residency had the officer reviewing the case found he would face persecution, torture or otherwise unfair treatment if returned to the U.S.
If returned, he could face a return to his unit or a court martial for desertion - a felony offence that would come with possible jail time.
Despite his uncertain future, though, Hinzman said had no regrets about deserting his unit in the name of a principled stand.
"(Iraq) was an unjust war based on false pretenses," he said.
"Every soldier who refused to fight has probably saved a lot of lives."
He said he would now consider whether to appeal the decision, a path taken by fellow resister Corey Glass, whose deportation order is on hold while the Federal Court decides whether to review his case.
Meanwhile, Lee Zaslofsky, of the War Resisters Support Campaign, said his group would continue to fight for Hinzman and the estimated 200 other resisters living in Canada.
"We're going to be appealing to all Canadians to let the government know that this kind of thing has got to stop," he said, noting a non-binding opposition bill passed in Parliament earlier this year that called on the government to allow resisters such as Hinzman to stay.
A nationwide poll conducted in June found two-thirds of Canadians would support a decision to allow the resisters to stay.
"(The government) must implement the will of Parliament and the people of Canada," Zaslofsky said.
© 2008 The Toronto Star
24 Comments so far
Show AllWay to go Harper! Turn Canada into USA lite!
This story is really unfortunate. A while ago I read Peter Laufer's book Mission Rejected: U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq, and Hinzman was one of the people interviewed for a whole chapter. I wrote to Peter Laufer saying that his website should contain updates on the Canadian courts' decisions regarding those he interviews in his book, but last I checked he hadn't done it.
I suggest you check out Laufer's book for the back story on this principled man and his refusal to be complicit in evil. Here's a quote from him: "I was told in basic training that, if I'm given an illegal or immoral order, it is my duty to disobey it. I feel that invading and occupying Iraq is an illegal and immoral thing to do."
ThomasMore,
I replied to you in the "Good Samaritans" article discussion.
fainthope says: "If you joined the US military with the goal of fighting a righteous battle against al queda and then they decide to deploy you to the illegal occupation of Iraq, it's breach of contract. You were lied to when you signed up and by none other than your commander in chief."
That is a very common story. Kids were outraged at the attack and bravely rushed to defend their country without a thought for their own safety. Then they were callously used for other agendas.
By the way, I am not even sure that Bin Laden and al qaeda were in Afghanistan. Did we have real intelligence or just a desire to install an oil pipeline? Even if BL were there, was sending in lots of unilingual, unprepared and confused troops into Afghanistan an effective way to catch him, or should there have been more clever and targetted means?
A deserter is generally despised because he strands his buddies in a dangerous situation. Here it is the officers and national leaders who should be despised for putting the soldiers out there based on lies, deceptions and greed.
Why did he join in the first place? For "white man's welfare?" (military pay/weapons industry/military-industrial complex)
If I were a guy, I'd join only if a foreign country's army invaded and occupied this country. That hasn't happened and did not happen on 9/11.
The job of the American military in this day and age is to go to foreign countries and guard the interests of the super rich war profiteers. That's not a good enough reason -- for me at least -- to join the military.
If you joined the US military with the goal of fighting
a righteous battle against al queda and then they decide to deploy you to the illegal occupation of Iraq, it's breach of contract. You were lied to when you signed up and by none other than your commander in chief.
Canada, she ain't what she used to be. Someday, maybe Harper can join Bush in Paraquy.
Sorry folks, you can't put this guy in with the boy's that hoofed it north during Viet Nam. There is a great difference between refusing report for the draft or not joining because you don't believe in fighting and deserting your unit after you have joined voulntarily.
Deserters and war protestors are not the same thing. Nobody made him join and he knew what he was signing up for.
Is the man that took his place still alive? There were 30,000 or so draft dodgers during our war, not many servicemen blamed them. This is not the same no matter how its dressed up.
a non-binding opposition bill passed in Parliament earlier this year that called on the government to allow resisters such as Hinzman to stay.
Stephan "Bushie" Harper is just respondiong to the will of "his" people....the US Neocons
To the man and his family, I am sorry!
I say this for the Americans that acknowledge our fault in letting the Fascist take control of our political process.
I am, was born in America, and with the common since of a toad, I realize that we have become the terrorist!
I live in America and am ashamed that I cannot stop our present circumstance.
I realize that our Government has fallen; taken the way of despair….
If you need a place; let me know……..I'm at mars735@yahoo.com
And if you f.....s are watching; so what?
Bush and company must be very pleased at how well regime change occurred in Canada without having to resort to an invasion.
I don't know much about Canadian politics, but I've found Canadians to be personally well attuned to others. They genuinely seem to care.
If I could defect to Canada, I would.
Harper is about to trigger an election by screwing with pending legislation, engineering a deliberate non-confidence vote. The intention is to strike first, and decapitate any real opposition in Canada to a further tightening of US/Canadian relations. In favor of the US of course.
Harper is taking his orders from Washington, just as the Georgian Saakeshivli did.
Actually as a VFP and a supporter of IVAW, Matthis Chiroux said he refused to go back because it is an Illegal Invasion of a Sovereign Nation making Iraq an illegal action and the US Military Occupier's and as such is not required to participate according to Military Law. He is at the ivaw House on the Hill and nobody has pissed around with him and it's been since May, this is occuring with greater frequency now. I haven't heard of any Resistor's[NOT DESERTER'S]recently that have used this to not be Stop-Lossed getting thrown in the Brig. Hopefully it's some kind of damn sign, what I have no fucking idea. I am just really happy they are staying here and getting ccrjustice or the ACLU to represent them, and living their lives. I truly love Canada but they really did these kids wrong from years ago. Harper the Harpie, wish he'd get gone like our Murderer would.
Thank you Jeremy Hinzman for showing us all the kind of respect, which we should have universally towards each other and life on earth. Thank you for working thoroughly over these years to address a problem of violence towards humanity and the earth both in the USA and in Canada, not only in a legal system but more particularly in all of our life-denying lifestyles. Thanks to your children and to your wife for allowing you to take a stance providing a future for all of us.
Shame on Canada.
Is there no refuge for someone who refuses to participate in war crimes?
Hollow point:
What in god's name do jews have to do with this? Are you just looking for a venue to spew garbage against a large and varied ethnic group? What track record are you talking about? Israel's?
Jeez. Hollow brain is more like it. Maybe fill it with something more than generalizations and hatred.
ijdavis, just how long is Harper's term before he's up for election again?
Look Liberals had little to pick from. It was Dion who's english is getting much bettter or the jew who lived in the US for years. We have witnessed the track records of countries who elect a jewish leader and Canada does not want to go there. Harper has a 6 pointed star up his butt right now so we can hope his poll numbers keep droping
Canadians are waiting for someone to vote for to replace this disgraceful Harper toy soldier. They don't have anybody yet. In the meantime this horrible person is degrading Canada's reputation day by day.
Sorry to read the news. Since the brain/people drain is largely from Canada to the US, I'd have been all in favour of taking America's finest this time around. For it is America's finest who formulate a moral position and then act on it. All of those smart vietnam draft dodgers who moved up north to Canada were definitely our gain and US loss. I find it very disappointing that Canadian courts have not shown the courage to be prepared to rule on the elephant in the room here; namely that the invasion of Iraq was clearly illegal under international law and soldiers are duty bound to refuse an illegal order. The war in Iraq is only made the more false by from the outset being justified by to a pack of lies. Lies that would no doubt have made even Goebels blush. If the war in Iraq was not illegal under international law, what precisely would be illegal under international law -- the russians doing the same thing??
Or the Canadian Government...
Wouldn't it be great if the US Government cared even a little about implementing the will of it's people?
It's crazy how if 2/3'rds support oil drilling then suddenly all the politicians line up for it.
But 2/3'rds support for ending war, healthcare, etc... just gets swept under the rug...
fainthope August 15th, 2008 12:20 pm
Nothing wrong with thast argument politically or morally. My point was that there are many other choices other than deserting.
You can serve elsewhere, you can ask for retraining as a medic, you can ask your commander for a transfer, many other ways to go than desert. And get it more than likely. Most soldiers don't want someone that their lives depend on there if they won't participate.