God Bless Canada

For Afghan Woman, Justice Runs Into Unforgiving Wall of Custom

If you don't have time to read the article, at least read the following quote:
"'My rapist has destroyed my future. No one will marry me after what he has done to me. So I must marry my rapist for my child's sake.' GULNAZ, a 19-year-old Afghan woman imprisoned for adultery after being raped, who has been pardoned on the condition that she marry the man who raped her. "

The article also discusses a child bride who had her nose cut off by her Taliban husband.

Um, where do I start?  I don't know if I can even discuss my feelings on the way women are treated in Afghanistan.  To be the victim of such a horrific crime as rape, only to be IMPRIOSONED for adultery (WHAT?!?!?!), and then freed on the condition that she marry her rapist....it's unthinkable.  Just pause for a moment and try and imagine that in our western society.  We have a lot of problems here in the west, don't get me wrong, but we can't even wrap our sheltered western minds around such an atrocity.  As for the child bride who had her nose cut off - that is sadistic and evil.  The idea of a child bride is horrific to begin with.  Imagine yourself as a little girl, or imagine your daughter, married off to some perverted old man.  Here in Canada (and the US) it would be considered rape.  So I just can't discuss it any further.

What I can discuss is my feelings on the lack of support for our troops over the years.  Don't get me wrong, most Canadians are very supportive of our active members and our veterans, however, there are the few who not only don't appreciate our troops and veterans, but go as far as to bash them, call them names, question their morals, etc.  I am beyond proud of my brave husband for his six month tour in Afghanistan.  More than once he almost lost life and I am truly lucky to still have a husband.  Not only that, but to have my son, because if I had lost his father 5 years ago, I would never have had my baby boy.  The after effects of war are still with us, especially with my husband today.  But we feel that it was worth the risk and the pain and anxiety because he was serving his country and trying to do something good in the world.  When I read an article like this, it makes me even more proud that he was a part of trying to bring down the Taliban.  They are nothing more than terrorist, women-hating, bullies who want to opress the rest of the world with their foul ideology that spreads hatred and violence to others, including their own women and children.  What other explanation do you have for using women and children as shields and suicide bombers?  There are no boundaries for their atrocities, and yet there are still people enjoying the freedoms of living in Canada who have the nerve to say negative things about our troops and veterans.

I am extremely thankful to live in such a beautiful, free, and safe country like Canada.  Too many Canadians don't realize how lucky they are.  They are entitled, self righteous, and ill-informed if they think they would have all the rights they do today if it weren't for our veterans who fought in the World Wars, and our troops today.  I think of my Great-Grandfather, Roland Ford, who had to write home after the Battle of Vimy Ridge in World War I and tell his parents and siblings at home that he watched his younger brother Howard gunned down and held him as he died.  Such a tragedy is unimaginable to us today, and yet that is what so many young men went through to give us the rights we have today.  That includes the rights to spew self-righteous bullshit about how our troops and veterans don't have a conscience.  I can't say the words that are coming to my mind that I want to direct at those people because my mother reads this blog.

So please, before you say negative things about our men and women fighting overseas, or the now very old men who fought in the past, think about how much you are hurting them and their families with your callous words.  It was a great sacrifice for my family to have my husband serve, and it was an even greater sacrifice for him (and he was one of the lucky ones, unlike a few of his friends whose caskets he had to carry).  I could not be more proud of him for protecting Canadians and for trying to make a difference in the lives of the Afghan people.  If it weren't for the bravery of soldiers like him, they wouldn't have a chance in hell.  Thank God that you live in Canada and you don't have to worry about your sisters and daughters being treated less than human.  And next time you see a veteran, thank him.  Pray for our troops.

"We got a fightin' side a mile wide but we pray for peace
'Cause it's mostly us that end up servin' overseas"
-Josh Thompson from the song Out Here