Tragedy in Syria

ALAN KURDI

Any topic I thought about writing this week quickly paled to insignificance in light of the tragic wake up call to the entire world, off the coast of Turkey,several days ago. The picture of little Alan Kurdi, washed up on the shore, is one that will be engraved in our minds, for years to come. In addition, this tragic and unnecessary death speaks volumes about the terrible consequences of so many being willing to bury their heads in the sand and believe that the devastation, terrorism, persecution and genocide in places like the Middle East and the Ukraine are somebody else’s problems and not ours.

As important as humanitarian efforts are, they do not alone, solve the problem. They are band aids and not solutions. We live in a nuclear world where we cannot simply build walls around us and isolate ourselves from what is happening elsewhere. Our economy and our safety require a global balance of power which cannot be maintained if we ignore what is happening in hot spots like Syria. Over 200,000 Syrians have been murdered in the past four years.. Turning a blind eye on what is happening there and salving our conscience by showing compassion to people who managed to escape, doesn’t cut it and it doesn’t solve the problem. The simple truth is that the war in Syria must be brought to an end and Canada cannot, or certainly should not duck its responsibility, limited as it may be, in this regard.

I was ashamed of the media and political response in Canada, to the terribly sad death of Alan Kurdi,as they turned it into a partisan political issue without bothering to check their facts. And then when the truth was revealed, clarifications were limited and apologies non existent. Two Huntsville writers have expressed their viewpoint on this in a manner that bears repeating.

Ruby Truax has a Facebook page called Huntsville Voice. She has not hesitated to be critical of the Harper Government when she disagrees with it. My guess is that she is not Conservative. However, she is fair and here is what she wrote about the Syrian crisis.

By Ruby Truax

“You have to know who you are mad at.

In the Kurdi family story there is a long list; Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Islamic State, the United Nations and those of us who have watched Syria die and allowed it to happen. One person we can’t blame is Stephen Harper.

The media jumped all over the erroneous story that Abdullah Kurdi’s sister Tima had applied to sponsor Abdullah and his family here in Canada and had been denied, and that this had led to the tragedy in the seas off Turkey. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon and turned this tragic event into a frenzy of partisan attacks when the truth is that Tima had applied to sponsor her other brother, Mohammed and his family. Abdullah were not trying to emigrate to Canada at all.

Stephen Harper has a three-pronged plan for Syria: accept more refugees faster, give more humanitarian aid and continue to participate in the military action. While I disagree with continuing the bombings, I posted this information to show that our federal government is not the heathen entity that has been portrayed all over the media lately.”

In another posting Ruby said: “The ultimate solution though, isn’t to resettle Syrians, but to allow them to go back home. We need to focus on ending the Civil war in Syria which has been going on for four years.” To that I say AMEN.

Hugh Holland has also been following the political hijinks this week and has written the following about remarks made by New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair who opposes Canada’s involvement in the military coalition in Syria and Iraq; Here is his view.

By Hugh Holland

Mulcair says Canadian forces have no role whatsoever to play in Syria and Iraq

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mulcair-says-canadian-forces-have-no-role-whatsoever-to-play-in-syria-and-iraq/article26225745/

“Mulcair is just plain wrong. If everyone had provided only humanitarian aid to France during WW2, the French people would have lost their country. Instead Canada and our allies fought so the French and the Dutch and others could keep their country. Right or wrong, what happened in the past in Iraq cannot be undone. But right now, the people of Iraq and Syria need help to keep their homes and country. If everyone provides only humanitarian aid, we would actually be helping the ISIS fanatics by making it easier and less onerous for them to drive people out of their homes and steal their country. Furthermore, sending anyone but well-trained military to provide even just humanitarian aid would be like sending lambs to slaughter. Does this generation of Canadians really want to be known as people who leave the heavy lifting to others? What kind of a reputation is that? That reputation would come back to haunt us if Canada ever needs help. Showing a pacifist side at this time will only encourage Putin to become more aggressive in the Arctic.”

Alan Kurdi’s unnecessary death is a human tragedy. Canada didn’t reject him as his family never asked to come here. But in a manner of speaking the whole world rejected him because we have failed to recognize that we can never tolerate, wherever they occur, acts of terrorism and persecution that trample on human rights and force people to flee their homes or face intolerable treatment. Compassion of course is important, but to really deal with the bad guys, sometimes it takes boots on the ground.

We have received a wakeup call. We can never again say we did not know. As Canadians, we have an opportunity to make a difference. Instead of using this tragedy for cheap political one upmanship, both by politicians and the media, wouldn’t it send a message if the Leaders of the three main Federal political parties stood together in unity and endorsed a plan that would address all aspects of the Syrian crisis, including humanitarian efforts and specific tactical initiatives, to end this horrendous civil war? A lot to expect but not too much to ask.

Hugh Mackenzie

Main photo: Creative Commons Syrian refugees in Vienna by Josh Zakary is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0