on options lost
Mar. 22nd, 2003 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhanSegment from an article written by a Canadian journalist in Iraq.
The Kurds who ask: "What is the matter with Canada?" are genuinely seeking an explanation, and so it falls to me to try to attempt to speak for the country -- to to summarize a complicated political debate, an issue on which Canadians are divided.
My explanation, made with a lot of hand gestures and the help of my translator Sarteep (who could probably give the shpiel himself by now) goes something like this: The people of Canada understand that Saddam Hussein is a dictator, and that the Kurdish people, along with many other Iraqis have suffered terribly under his regime. We are not saying they should be condemned to endure his rule.
What we object to is unilateral action by the United States. We beleive that if the Americans are allowed to decide today that Mr Hussein must go, they may decide next week that it should be the leader of another country -- perhaps it will be Canada who annoys them, because we will not give them cheap access to our forests or our water.
Canadians do believe that action must be taken against Saddam Hussein, I say, but for the sake of every other nation, it must be done through the United Nations. "What if," I ask, "they oust Saddam and you elect a new leader, but the United States decides they don't like him either?"
Most of the time the Kurds meet my explanation with nods. "It's true what you say." Mr Ali said. "But nothing was done to get of Saddam Hussein through the United Nations before."
[.............]
Every time I thanked a survivor in Halabja for telling me their difficult story of that day, they replied, with dignity, "You're welcome. But better you should have come before. Where were you in 1988? Where have you been all the years we have suffered under Saddam?"
Bloody good question that.
There were better ways to do this.
Something tells me it's a lot easier to get thousands out to peace marches in front of the US consulate than it is going to be to mobilize massive Get Off Your Fat Rich Ass And Do Something You Fucks rallies in front of the United Nations.
The Kurds who ask: "What is the matter with Canada?" are genuinely seeking an explanation, and so it falls to me to try to attempt to speak for the country -- to to summarize a complicated political debate, an issue on which Canadians are divided.
My explanation, made with a lot of hand gestures and the help of my translator Sarteep (who could probably give the shpiel himself by now) goes something like this: The people of Canada understand that Saddam Hussein is a dictator, and that the Kurdish people, along with many other Iraqis have suffered terribly under his regime. We are not saying they should be condemned to endure his rule.
What we object to is unilateral action by the United States. We beleive that if the Americans are allowed to decide today that Mr Hussein must go, they may decide next week that it should be the leader of another country -- perhaps it will be Canada who annoys them, because we will not give them cheap access to our forests or our water.
Canadians do believe that action must be taken against Saddam Hussein, I say, but for the sake of every other nation, it must be done through the United Nations. "What if," I ask, "they oust Saddam and you elect a new leader, but the United States decides they don't like him either?"
Most of the time the Kurds meet my explanation with nods. "It's true what you say." Mr Ali said. "But nothing was done to get of Saddam Hussein through the United Nations before."
[.............]
Every time I thanked a survivor in Halabja for telling me their difficult story of that day, they replied, with dignity, "You're welcome. But better you should have come before. Where were you in 1988? Where have you been all the years we have suffered under Saddam?"
Bloody good question that.
There were better ways to do this.
Something tells me it's a lot easier to get thousands out to peace marches in front of the US consulate than it is going to be to mobilize massive Get Off Your Fat Rich Ass And Do Something You Fucks rallies in front of the United Nations.