It's hard to believe that it's been a year since since the body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach.
For it seems so much longer.
But although the passage of time has dulled the impact of that horrible tragedy.
What we must never forget is how that poor little toddler awakened the conscience of Canada, and helped bring down the Con regime.
For when news of the tragedy first broke, and it was known that Alan Kurdi's family had been hoping to come to Canada, the Cons tried to claim they were blameless.
Only to have it revealed that the ghastly Chris Alexander had rejected a refugee application from Alan's uncle, and by so doing set the tragedy in motion.
And when Stephen Harper tried to double down on his military solution to the refugee problem...
It only made him look like even more like a callous monster...
The wheels started to come off the Con bus...
And when Kellie Leitch and Chris Alexander unveiled their monstrous Cultural Barbarism campaign...
Canadians were disgusted and that helped seal the Con's fate.
So the death of little Alan Kurdi not only helped bring in a different kind of government and a different kind of Prime Minister...
It also helped change thousands of lives.
Syrian refugee families have been given the opportunity that Alan didn’t have to build a new life in Canada. Members of Muslim and Arab communities who have felt disenfranchised in Canada have a renewed sense of belonging. And ordinary people who rolled up their sleeves to engage in refugee issues feel a fresh pride in being Canadian.
The numbers speak for themselves...
In less than a year we have managed to bring in three times the number of refugees than the U.S. has so far accepted.
It has helped make us a better country.
And for Alan's aunt Tima Kurdi who had worked so hard to bring him and his family to Canada it has helped turn tragedy to triumph.
During a visit to Toronto on Canada Day in July, Kurdi said she was recognized and greeted everywhere by strangers. “I was at this restaurant, and the owner gave me a hug and said, ‘I’m so proud to have you in.’ Someone at a coffee shop just came up to me and said, ‘Thank you, Tima,’ ” Kurdi recalled. “Alan has changed the life of everybody.”
As it did for so many other Canadians.
Saved by their Canadian values.
And the death of a poor little boy...
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15 comments:
Whats really sad is the neo cons have turned another part of the world into a kill zone and never have to take responsibilty. Right now our Kurdish allies are fighting our Turkish and american backed syrain allies. ISIS changes the name of an organization and suddenly they are an American ally.
This is very sad news, now people forget humanity
How has bringing them here made us a better country? The majority of them are going to end up on welfare and be a tax burden to the rest of us.
Anon 1:43 Moving past the moral and ethical questions of "when we destroy a peoples future through unjustified war, do we have any responsibility to try to make their children's life better?", I really must ask you for facts that would support this. I understand that some may end up as a tax payer burden, but few people want the future that poverty holds, so they will do what 30 million immigrants have already done in Canada- find employment and make Canada stronger. GS
While I agree this helped end the CON Regime, I don't see the new Regime offering much change. They may have bought in more refugees but are offering them no support except a tax burden for the middle class. The current regime is still more interested in how they look on the world stage whilst doing little for the middle class. Free trade by way of selling Canada off to foreign countries seem to be their main objective. Helping GREEDY HOG Corporate friends whilst the middle class goes down the toilet. Voted for change and got the same pretty well sums it up!!!!! FS
Here's a link to facts that will support this. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/10/more-than-90-percent-of-middle-eastern-refugees-on-food-stamps/
More than 90 percent of middle eastern refugees are on food stamps in the US. I would imagine Canadian numbers are similar. So again, it's not making us a better country if it's a strain on taxpayers, healthcare, etc. Sure it might make you feel good inside to help them, at the expense of other Canadians.
Please tell me how I as a 29 year old Canadian taxpayer have destroyed someone's future through unjustified war. Canada didn't create the Syrian refugee crisis. We aren't bombing Syria. Why do taxpayers have to foot the bill for this?
It's not making us a better country it's just virtue signaling. It's actually making us a weaker country.
The refugees survived in a very difficult repressive environment in the past. I expect that most will flourish especially their children to the benefit of Canada in a more open supportive environment.Just as long as the Cons with their magical Sidam touch are assigned to permanent latrine duty.
RT
You can expect all you wants but facts are facts. Did you read the article I linked to? You can hope and pray and wish for the best but again, most will end up on welfare unfortunately.
Anon 8:52. Canada bombed Syria in spring of 2015, in an action that may have been a war crime under International Law. We also have been supportive of various other aggressive actions within the Middle East that has contributed to the rise of Muslim extremists.
Some facts on refugees. Refugees are able to apply for government assistance, and for a one time Financial payment if they have no savings and need basic necessities. Sponsored refugees are not part of government assistance programs, but can apply for social assistance after one year. The Government charges refugees for transportation costs and for initial health exams, which is expected to be paid back, like any other debt it has interest charges on it. They receive help in getting settled and in getting a job through courses. Most refugees in the past have become productive and valuable members of Canadian society, and most people in Canada were originally immigrants and refugees. Throughout our brief history there have been many who have used arguments similar to the ones you use, but there are many more that not only see the humanitarian need to accept unfortunates but also the bonuses of a growing population and tax base. ~ GS
How is it growing the tax base if the majority of them are going to be on welfare? When that one year is up, most of them will be applying for social assistance. Can you provide PROOF that most are going to get jobs and become productive members of society? You have yet to cite a source for your argument.
I think 90% of middle eastern refugees being on food stamps isn't very "productive and valuable".
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blogs-and-comment/why-canada-should-welcome-more-syrian-refugees-a-lot-more/
" Between 1979 and 1981, Canada accepted 60,000 “boat people” from Southeast Asia. Within a decade, 86% of those former refugees were working, healthy and spoke English with some proficiency, achieving the basic criteria for success set out by academic Morton Beiser in his landmark study of their integration into Canadian society. They were less likely to use social services and more likely to have jobs than the average Canadian. One in five was self-employed. They weren’t a drain on the taxpayer—they were taxpayers."
Your link from Breitbart is also not evidence of refugees being on welfare for long periods of time, only that they availed themselves of these services. It is logical to suggest an initial stages to find employment and acclimatize to a new culture and customs.
Perhaps the best evidence of all are the refugees that came to Canada from war torn countries after WW1 and WW2, they became productive citizens and valuable members of society, and tax payers. To think that the refugees from other nations can't mirror that success is closed minded. ~GS
The body of Aylan Kurdi has gone beyond the ‘iconic’.
Being small and dressed like a little European boy, and being white rather than brown-skinned, his very name posthumously and subtly shifting to the homely English ‘Alan’, the son of the Kurdish refugee family fleeing across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Europe became ‘our’ child. The moment his tiny body washed up on the beach near Bodrum and appeared on front pages around the world, the closet racism of our politicians was briefly stilled. What stone heart could condemn this little boy as part of a ‘swarm’, a word used about the occupants of the Calais camp by a former British prime minister?
But the image of Alan Kurdi obscured a host of lessons which we ignored – and continue to disregard – at our peril.
- Robert Fisk, The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/a-year-on-from-alan-kurdi-we-continue-to-ignore-the-facts-in-front-of-us-and-we-ignore-them-at-our-a7220111.html
Anon@ 1:43, 8:52 etc.
You are in the wrong place man. Back up the truck, turn around and head on down the highway.
Somehow you missed the first sign and photo "A Boy on a Beach". That's a dead boy son. Simon's piece is about humanity, personhood, and conscience. It is about how the Canadian political scene, particularly the last federal election, was influenced by the death of a little boy. That boy became the symbol of plight of refugees in flight.
Yeah, I called you son. I'm twice your age and more. You missed the photos of children, like yourself who need the support of family and community before they even have a chance of becoming adults. Children are persons, and can be citizens long before they become tax payers. The order is important because you missed the first two aspects of political discourse.
You're confused too about the community Simon has built here. He's been writing almost daily for about a decade. Simon is one of Canada's foremost progressive bloggers. There isn't anything he's said that isn't sincerely believed. This blog is not about seeking the approval of others, or somehow elevating one's status through expression of what you would call "politically correct" points of view.
We know a lot about you from what little you've said. You skip by the issues of humanity to zero in on the burden you will have to carry as a taxpayer. You use the language of the right when you accuse this community of "virtue signalling", then virtue signal yourself by saying you hope and pray. And yet we're confused about you, just as you seem to be about yourself, whether you're Canadian or American.
We know you don't respond when Anonymous GS provides "PROOF" to counter the one and only fact you believe to be true. So here's a little story of how refugees have fared in Canada in the past. Imagine 38,000 refugees arriving in a city of 30,000. Don't forget to view the photos. There's one that reminds me very much of little Alan. See if the statues convey the humanity you missed in the other story. We know that things turned out very well then and I expect things will turn out well again.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/14/19th-century-toronto-irish-immigrants-a-lesson-in-upward-mobility.html
I hope you will become a better person some day.
P2P
It's a well known fact that Asians are model immigrants. They work hard, open businesses, don't cause trouble etc.
Just to let you know, the majority of Syrians coming to Canada are illiterate in their own language. In their culture many of the women don't work at all. I understand how the media whips the public into feeling immense guilt as a mechanism to introduce migrants. Looks at all the terrorist attacks in Europe over the past year. Look at the mass rapes. Look how crime has skyrocketed. Sweden has become the rape capital of the West. Enough of these progressive buzzwords like diversity and multiculturalism. You're being brainwashed. Stop all this touchy feely safe space garbage and start looking at the cold hard facts.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/07/07/major-german-companies-employing/
http://speisa.com/modules/articles/index.php/item.2954/germany-of-1-million-migrants-54-got-jobs.html
hi P2P...thank you for your kind words about me and this humble blog. And thank you for standing up for our Canadian values. As for all the Cons commenting on this page I have no time for such fear, ignorance, and racism, so please send your comments to the Rebel in future. And I'll only repeat what I've always said and strongly believe. This country was built by immigrants and refugees, and its diversity is its strength. That's what makes it a much more civilized and peaceful place than the United States. If we have an anti-Canadian problem it's homegrown. And the sooner we fix that problem the easier it will be to integrate those who choose to make Canada their new home. Immigrants and refugees are already closely screened, and are educated about the values of this country before they even get here. Can we do a better job of integrating them fully into our country? Yes, we can and we should. But so far we're doing a pretty good job, and we can be proud of that...
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