Saturday, April 23, 2022

Mother’s Day to Father’s Day Chain Fast to Free the Canadian Captives

 
Bring Home Jack Letts and all Canadian Detainees From NE Syria
May 8 to June 19, 2022

(Details on how to join the fast for a day are below, as are actions you can take even if you are not fasting!)


INTRODUCTION
Please pick a day to fast in support of freeing and bringing home arbitrarily detained Canadian Muslim Jack Letts and four dozen other Canadian Muslim men, women, and children. All of them are illegally held without charge in northeastern Syrian prisons and camps.  A March, 2022 United Nations report described their conditions as meeting the “threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law.”

In late January, the International Committee of the Red Cross declared: “States must repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.” At the same time, Abdulkarim Omar, foreign office co-chair of the Kurdish administration that holds the detainees, reiterated what the Kurds have been saying for years: “Every country should take its citizens back.” On January 31, 2022, the US State Department called on its partners to “urgently repatriate their nationals and other detainees remaining in northeast Syria.” 
 

BACKGROUND
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations, and even a House of Commons committee have called for repatriation of all detainees. But a Canadian government long complicit in the torture of its Muslim citizens held abroad has refused to lift a finger to help, even as far smaller and less resourced countries from Kazakhstan to Bosnia and Herzegovina have had no trouble bringing their nationals home. Ottawa’s only response has been to create a bureaucratic “framework” marinated with insufferable bafflegab that makes it impossible for anyone to come home.  

As a result, it’s up to those of us who can speak up to do so with public actions like this chain fast.  

The chain fast will run Mother’s Day to Father’s Day because among those imprisoned are mothers and fathers, as well as the sons and daughters of parents and grandparents who have worked for years to bring their loved ones home. In addition, the Canadian government, taking a page from its own history of genocidal violence against Indigenous people, is engaged in an insidious process by which it seeks to separate the imprisoned babies and young kids from their moms and dads. Family separation – especially based on racist notions – is never acceptable.


WHO IS DETAINED?
All of the Canadians who went to Syria have been unjustly tarred with the same “national security” brush. None have been given a chance to defend themselves against these false accusations. As is happening with Canadians flocking to resist the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a small number of young Canadians travelled to Syria during the Assad regime’s war against the Syrian people. Some went to fight; some, like Jack Letts, went for humanitarian reasons to help people suffering as a result of the civil war; and some went on a ‘grand adventure’ or to escape racism and Islamophobia at home. Most believed they were going to help build a non-violent, utopian, Muslim society – a dream that proved both false and lethal for many. Many, like Jack Letts, opposed ISIS in the streets and were prosecuted for opposing them – a fact the Western media refuses to acknowledge.

Canada must stop relying on the media-generated, Islamophobic myths about Jack Letts and the other detainees as an excuse to perpetuate their misery (see a detailed analysis of Jack’s case at http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html)

 
 Compare the way in which Canadian officials mistreat this group of emaciated, tortured souls with the Two Michaels, Canadians who were also arbitrarily detained, but in China. Despite being charged with serious (though clearly bogus) offences, the Two Michaels enjoyed (as they should have) a presumption of innocence in the eyes of Ottawa and the media. But when it comes to Canadian Muslims detained abroad under conditions of torture, Canada has always assumed guilt and been a complicit partner in criminalizing and torturing them. Two judicial inquiries and numerous Federal and Supreme Court decisions have found Canada complicit in the torture of Canadian Muslims abroad. 
 

 

WHY A FAST?
Fasting has long been a tool to raise awareness both in our communities and within ourselves. When you fast, and your body asks when nutrition will eventually arrive, it is a reminder of a cruel reality. Unlike those of us who fast for a day – and know that what we need for our health is coming soon – for many who hunger for justice, they simply do not know when the decision that will soothe their souls and provide peace of mind will arrive. That uncertainty, which can be indefinite, produces anxiety and trauma. When you fast in support of the Canadian captives, it provides moral support to the families of the detainees and reminds them that they are not alone. It also sends an important message to the Canadian government that you recognize the humanity and the rights of those detained (the very things Canada wants us to dismiss). It also helps spread the word about an injustice that needs to be remedied as soon as possible.


HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CHAIN FAST
a) Pick a day (or a series of days) to fast during the Mother’s Day to Father’s Day  time period and email your name and town to tasc@web.ca 

b) A list of open dates and names is available at http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/04/mothers-day-to-fathers-day-chain-fast.html
 
c) More than one person can fast on the same date.

d) Fast according to your preferred tradition (a full 24 hours, liquids only, sun up to sun down).

e) The fast is open to anyone (you can join even if you are not living in Canada). Even if you cannot fast, we encourage you to do these actions below!


On the day they fast we encourage you to:

1.  take a selfie with a simple message (ie, #BringBackJackLetts, #FreeThe44, Free the Canadian Captives, Canada Complicit in Arbitrary Detention, Free the 40+ Canadian Captives, etc.) and share that image via social media, explaining why you are fasting on that day. Email us the image at tasc@web.ca so we can share it too.



 
b. Write an email (sample below) to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to explain why you are fasting and reinforce the demands listed above. 
 
c. Write a letter to a local newspaper about why you are fasting.
 
d. Fast for an hour in front of your MP’s office.

e. Share this petition: You can copy and paste this link on your social media and email it to your friends as well! https://www.change.org/p/i-forgot-what-the-sun-looks-like-free-jack-letts-and-all-canadian-detainees-in-ne-syria

Thanks for your support!

The Canadian Coalition to Free Jack Letts &
Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture 
 
Sample email SAMPLE EMAIL (be sure to include the CC-ed MPs and add your own MP if they are not already listed below!)
 
(Feel free to personalize with your own statement imagining what it would be like to know your loved ones are condemned to these brutal camps and prisons and the Canadian government is refusing to lift a finger for them. Use a creative subject line as well that does not make your email look like it is computer-generated!)
 

 

Dear Minister Joly,
 
I am fasting today in support of the call to repatriate four dozen Canadian Muslim men, women, and children from NE Syrian detention centres and prisons known as “Guantanamo on the Euphrates.” 
Canada is an international embarrassment, as noted by the United Nations, for its failure to do what so many other countries have been willing and able to do: bring their nationals home.
 
Countries from Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Netherlands, Albania, France, the USA, Germany, Iraq and Russia have repatriated their citizens from these camps.
So why not Canada?
 
Last month, Canada celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While it’s an important document, it is too often applied unevenly in this country depending on one’s heritage or religious belief. In this instance, four dozen Muslims missed yet another Ramadan with their loved ones here because you are refusing to honour and uphold their Section 6 Charter right to return home. 
 
As you know, some four dozen Canadians remain arbitrarily detained largely because Global Affairs Canada has refused to take the necessary steps to bring them home. How can the government of Canada, which played a lead role in drafting and signing a global pact on ending arbitrary detention, refuse to take immediate action to end the arbitrary detention of Canadian men, women and children enduring conditions that the United Nations has described as meeting the “threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law.”  
 
Even worse, why is Canada actively fighting a legal challenge in court and trying to prevent these families from seeking an order to have Global Affairs Canada do its job and bring their loved ones home?
 
A group of retired diplomats wrote in the January 31, 2022 edition of the Hill-Times that the Canadian “government’s reasons for not helping are specious and are meant to disguise its complete unwillingness to help this specific group of Canadians.” 
 
It is beyond unacceptable that your government claims it is unable to assist these arbitrarily detained Canadian citizens when so many governments have been able to repatriate their own citizens with ease. In fact, you are constantly putting up roadblocks that interfere with their Charter-guaranteed right to return to Canada.
 
If you are unsure what to do, perhaps pick up the phone and call the ambassadors of Kazakhstan or Albania or France for pointers on how to repatriate citizens. Better yet, simply respond to the repeated requests of Kurdish authorities to come and claim your citizens. They are, after all, Canada’s ally!
 
On February 22, 2022, Human Rights Watch declared the following: “Canada has an obligation under international law to take necessary and reasonable steps to assist nationals abroad facing serious abuses including risks to life, torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment. International law also grants everyone the right to return to their country of nationality, without their government throwing up direct or indirect barriers.”
 
I agree with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which in January 2022 clearly called on Canada and other nations to do the right thing: “States must repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.”
 
I am calling on you to take immediate action to save the at-risk lives of these Canadian citizens. Prime Minister Trudeau campaigned on a platform that declared, “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.” These arbitrarily detained Canadians are no less deserving of human rights than anyone else. Your government said it stood with the two Michaels when they were detained in China. It’s time, now, to stand with the Canadians who, like Jack Letts, remain imprisoned without charge under appalling conditions akin to torture.
 
I expect better of the Canadian government when it comes to respecting the rights of Canadians detained abroad, and demand that you end this nightmare immediately.
 
Name
Town/City
 
 
++++++++++++++ 
 Names and Dates of Fasters
(Sorry, we don't have the ability to click on the date to fill it in, but you can email tasc@web.ca with your name, city, and date!) 
 
  
Sunday, May 8: Tasneem Fazel, Calgary, AB
Monday, May 9: Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI
Tuesday, May 10: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, May 11: Julie Lovely, Martin, GA, USA
Thursday, May 12: Ria Heynen, Ottawa, ON; Nasreen Alani, Calgary, AB
Friday, May 13: Matthew Behrens, Ottawa, ON
Saturday, May 14: Matthew Behrens, Ottawa, ON
Sunday, May 15: Sally Lane, Ottawa, ON; John Letts, UK
Monday, May  16: Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI
Tuesday, May 17: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, May 18: Rebecca Platt, Vancouver, BC
Thursday, May 19: Ria Heynen, Ottawa, ON
Friday, May 20: Irina Hoffer, Berkhout, the Netherlands
Saturday, May 21: Jane Powell, Aberystwyth, Wales
Sunday, May 22: John Letts, UK
Monday, May 23: Irina Hoffer, Berkhout, the Netherlands
Tuesday, May 24: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, May 25: Wendy Goldsmith, London, ON
Thursday, May 26: Gail Lorimer, Hamilton, ON
Friday, May 27: Brian Tillory, Vancouver, BC
Saturday, May 28: Connie Pike, St. John's, NL
Sunday, May 29: John Letts, UK
Monday, May 30: Wendy Goldsmith, London, ON
Tuesday, May 31: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON  
Wednesday, June 1: Lynn Pascente, Aurora, IL
Thursday, June 2: Irina Hoffer, Berkhout, the Netherlands
Friday, June 3: Jim Gallagher, Regina, SK
Saturday, June 4: Anonymous, Toronto, ON
Sunday, June 5: John Letts, UK
Monday, June 6: Kate Lonsdale, Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK; Gill Collins, Brierfield, Lancashire, England
Tuesday, June 7: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, June 8: Ray Kline, Toronto, ON
Thursday, June 9: Nasreen Alani, Calgary, AB
Friday, June 10: Bill Knight, Edmonton, AB
Saturday, June 11: Talia, Montreal, QC
Sunday, June 12: John Letts, UK
Monday, June 13: Ray Smith, Halifax, NS
Tuesday, June 14: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, June 15: anonymous, Toronto, ON
Thursday, June 16: Leila Mon, Toronto, ON    
Friday, June 17: Jim Leatherstone, NY
Saturday, June 18: Matt Campos, Minneapolis
Sunday, June 19: Tasneem Fazel, Calgary, AB
 
 
 
 
 
 
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