|
|
Letter from a father of a soldier
Today I am at war... At war against the military propaganda of our government... At war against an unscrupulous force which recruits our children in the schools. Since the Conservatives came to power, military recruiters have had the mandate to expand their activities in the schools. Their mission is to significantly increase recruitment because they need soldiers to go to war. To get there, they are recruiting in primary schools, high schools and the Cegeps to find volunteers for the cadets and the reserves. They are targeting their "charm offensive" at all ages of youth. In 2004, the armed forces came to find my 16-year-old son at his high school. They applied their "charm offensive" on him by offering him a weekend in the reserves. They promised him a thrilling life of war games with real weapons and body armour. Like many adolescents his age, he was enthralled by the prospect of playing at war. These professional recruiters targeted my son who was indifferent to school. Over the course of two years, they used the power of their words to influence him, wearing down his defences, in spite of all my efforts to convince him otherwise. Two years later, they have convinced him to become a full-time soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces, those forces that Mr. Stephen Harper uses to kill people. Yes, they succeeded in drawing him into their war machine. These officers know very well what they are doing recruiting in the high schools, that they have a target audience of adolescents who are easily swayed. My son is twenty years old today. He is a soldier in the 22nd regiment. He will be in the next contingent leaving for Afghanistan in five months. Unfortunately I lost my battle. I lost against an obscene and unprincipled system, a system which knows very well the weaknesses of children. Yes, Canada is at war, a war fomented by Mr. George W. Bush and his lieutenant Stephen Harper. These manipulators would have us believe that this is a war for democracy. So then, I would like to know why they have forgotten Darfur with 300,000 dead, why they left a million people to die in Rwanda, why have they forgotten Gaza... They would have us believe that this is a war to stop opium production, requiring a doubling of coalition forces. More like a war for oil, when we know that Afghanistan is a the only viable route to transport natural gas and oil from the former republics of the USSR which are rich in gas and oil and new allies of the U.S. Today, I am leading this battle to warn parents and their children about recruitment in the schools. It is a fight against the Conservative government, a fight against war and for peace. I am at war against this government so that our soldiers become soldiers of peace. [...] The father of a soldier (Translation by TML Daily) http://www.cpcml.ca/Tmld2008/D38146.htm |
| |
|
Comments to : shunpike@shunpiking.com Copyright New Media Services Inc. © 2007. The views expressed herein are the writers' own and do not necessarily reflect those of shunpiking magazine or New Media Publications. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. Copyright of written and photographic and art work remains with the creators. |