Peace-making or War-keeping

It was March 19, 2003 around 5 pm and I was on my way home from work. My mind had been occupied with the threat of invasion of Iraq for days and perhaps weeks.

On my way, I saw the protesters at St. George Square in Guelph again. They had been camping on the street for days. Instead of going home, I walked toward the crowd, lit a candle and placed it near the fountain.

I sat down beside the candle, as the sun set on St. George Square. I held my knees in my arms and as I watched the candle burn, remembered the days of my childhood . Concrete bunkers, the Red Alarm, White Alarm, nights of sleeping in the basement...

To this day, I haven't been able to get the sound of airplanes approaching us out of my head. As much as I hated Saddam Hussein for ruining my childhood, my city and my country, I couldn't stop thinking about the Iraqi children that would suffer.

As tears rolled down on my face, I thought of the next day, first day of the New Year for many Kurds, who were seeking refuge near the Iranian border. There were reports that many families were camping in the cold with no food or water.

My candle burned out and I had to light another one. I could vividly remember the horrific scenes of destruction, dead soldiers coming home and the sound of military march that summarized my childhood.

It was March 19 and it was cold, but not as cold as it was for the campers in Iraq. I stayed up with the crowd until morning, when we heard U.S finally invaded Iraq.

That day, with all my heart and soul, I wanted the Canadian forces out of war. But today, our debate is on their role in Afghanistan.

No one wants the Taliban to come back. The Afghanis need help to re-build their police force and their country. Until they gain control, the Canadians need to support the mission. At least that's what the media are telling us.

As the bodies of two dead soldiers were brought home this week, I thought whether this really was a peace-making mission. How many soldier do we need to lose, before we decide that we don't want to clean up after the Americans?

I admire the Canadian military men and women, who put their lives on the line to re-build Afghanistan. But the truth is that I want to be convinced the cause is really worth their lives.

Do the people of Afghanistan want a peace-keeping force? Is that what we are doing in Afghanistan?

Read Jeffrey Simpson Column Today on this.