Tuesday, March 19 2013 at 7pm
First United Church – 320 E. Hastings (at Gore Street).
With speakers including:
-Riadh R. Muslih, Iraqi-born Canadian
-Rodney Watson Jr., US Iraq War resister in sanctuary
Ten years on: Join us in a gathering to remember the Iraq War and to celebrate those who resisted it. In the months leading up to March 19, 2003, there were massive protests across Canada and around the world against war — February 15, 2003 still stands as the largest coordinated protest in human history. But the war went ahead, taking a devastating toll on the people of Iraq, with hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced. Riadh R. Muslih is an Iraqi-born Canadian. His father, Rashid Muslih, was a former interior minister who was executed in January 1970. This occurred two years after the Baath party, which Saddam Hussein controlled, took power.
Many of those who resisted the war also paid a heavy price. This includes U.S. war resisters who came to Canada to avoid fighting and killing in an immoral war. Rodney Watson Jr. is one of these brave war resisters. For over 3 years, he has been staying in sanctuary at First United Church to avoid deportation to the United States, where he would face persecution for his refusal to return to fight in the war. The Conservative government, led by Stephen Harper who ten years ago supported the U.S. war, has refused to grant asylum to war resisters seeking to come to Canada as refugees.
Admission Free. Donations are welcome.
stopwarca 