09) STOP THE DEPORTATION OF KIMBERLEY RIVERA!

By Kimball Cariou

     Time may be running out for yet another U.S. war resister who faces deportation from Canada. On September 20, Kimberley Rivera, her husband Mario and their four young children, are scheduled to be sent to the U.S., where she faces a possible two to five years in a military prison for opposing the war in Iraq.

     Rivera joined the U.S. Army at the age of 24, believing that the war would make the United States a safer country safer and bring democracy to Iraq. As she writes, "Once I was stationed in Iraq, I realized I had been lied to. I saw the true face of war: countless civilian casualties, and Iraqi children left devastated by loss and filled with fear. We were not bringing freedom to Iraq; we were bringing needless pain and suffering and death. How could I look my children in the eye and tell them to be good people, when I was contributing to causing harm and death to innocent people on the other side of the world? As this became clear to me, my conscience would no longer let me participate in the war in Iraq."

     Five years ago, Rivera and her family came to Canada, where she later applied for refugee status. She has been a community peace activist in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood, and two of her children were born here. They want to continue to live in Canada, so their children can "grow up in a peaceful country that values tolerance, respect, and community."

     But at this point, Rivera's fate lies with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, so she is appealing to Canadians to urge the federal government to stop the deportation.

     "My biggest fear is being separated from my children and having to sit in a prison for politically being against the war in Iraq," Rivera told a news conference on Sept. 7, where she was supported by the War Resisters Support Campaign, Amnesty International, the Canadian Labour Congress, and other groups.

     Lawyer Alyssa Manning said Rivera may appeal a ruling on her pre‑removal risk assessment, which has ordered that she leave Canada by Sept. 20. According to Manning, federal officials making the assessment failed to consider that Rivera has been outspoken about her opposition to the Iraq war. While many of those who flee the U.S. military are not jailed, Manning says those who are outspoken about their beliefs are much more likely to get prison time.

     "We have spoken with the command at Fort Carson," said Manning, "and they have explained to the Rivera family that they have every intention of detaining and then prosecuting (Rivera) upon her return."

     The War Resisters Support Campaign says that two other Iraq war resisters who were deported, Robin Long and Clifford Cornell, faced year‑long jail sentences upon their return. Despite this, Jason Kenney's press secretary says the federal government does not believe the U.S. subjects dissenting soldiers to persecution.

     Rivera is also considering asking the government to delay her deportation while her humanitarian and compassionate grounds application is still being weighed. That application raises concerns such as the best interests of her young children.

     For more information and to sign a petition, visit resisters.ca, the website of the War Resisters Support Campaign. But given the imminent deportation date, we urge readers to phone the office of Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney (613.954.1064, 9‑5 EST), to let him know that you want Kimberley Rivera to stay in Canada.

(The above article is from the September 16-30, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)