The case of Omar Khadr is one
that defiantly hit home. Perhaps this is because Omar and I are very similar in
some aspects. Our nationalities, ages, foreign ethnicities, and aspirations in
life to educate ourselves are all the same. Yet the last 11 years of our lives
have been very different. A Canadian youth like myself spent the last 11 years
going to high school and university while someone who is demographically very
similar to me, spent the last decade in the world’s most dangerous and
torturous jail against his own will, even though we are subjected to the same
constitutional rights.
Incase you are unaware of Omar’s
story, here a bit of background information. Omar, a Canadian citizen who was
15 at the time, was accused of killing a US medic during a cross fire in
Afghanistan that took place in an local compound, where he worked as a
translator with his father. Omar, who was immediately blinded in one eye from
the attack, was then shot three times in the back leaving him critically
injured. After the cross fire, Omar was captured by the American Military and
transferred to Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp for ten years. During this time,
he was brutally tortured and was held in solitary confinement for three years
where he had no access to legal aid.
Unfortunately, Canada did not
come to the rescue as Omar’s constitutional rights were never enforced by the
Canadian government during his time in Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps this is because
Omar would have likely never been convicted under the Canadian law since he was a minor, and even if he were convicted under the Canadian law, he probably
would have not served a complete sentence due to loopholes such as parole and
bail, which do not suit the American agenda. As a result, Omar’s case was left
in the hands of The Guantanamo Military Commission, a body created to deal with
specialized cases such as this, that had been rejected by US civilian and
military courts. This commission convicted Omar of war crimes that did not
exist in 2002, which is an illegal act under the International Law.
As a Canadian Muslim, I speculate
whether Omar would have been treated differently and his rights would have been
restored if he were not a Muslim? How
important are the roles of ethnicity and religion in determining the outcome of
a human rights violation in Canada? Evidently, they play a critical role, as
Omar was the last Westerner to be released from Guantanamo Bay. Therefore this
makes me question Canada’s position on protecting its citizen’s rights. Is the
country that prides itself on diversity, acceptance, and safety really as
pluralistic as we think?
Regardless of whether Omar is
guilty or not, I believe that there have been apparent human rights violations
that should not have taken place to any child here in Canada, or elsewhere.
This a very sad and controversial case. I think you ask great questions regarding the treatment and human rights violations that have yet to be addressed. I think the case of Omar Khadr is very complicated and as an outside observer it is hard to determine whether he was guilty or not. But I do agree that whether he was guilty or not he deserves fair treatment as a minor. Also since he is Canadian he should have received support from his government to ensure a fair trail and treatment as a minor.
ReplyDeleteSome of the questions you raise are very controversial but they HAVE to be asked. I ask myself these things all the time. Just as with the case with Trayvon Martin in the states now, would the verdict have been different if Trayvon Martin would have been white? I strongly believe that the answer is yes and that on both fronts, with Trayvon and Omar, fundamental human rights were violated. The question you ask of "how important are the roles of ethnicity and religion in determining the outcome of a human rights violation in Canada?" really hit home because we are religious minorities in Canada. Very good read Aalia but tough to stomach all these important questions you raise. Good job at asking the hard questions that we try avoiding usually!
ReplyDeleteAre the questions you've raised here controversial? Is questioning someone's justice because of their ethnicity controversial? Is questioning someone's justice regardless of any defining features controversial? It's unfortunate that it is, because it really shouldn't. We live in a society where we are taught the difference between wrong and right, yet cases like Omar Khadr and Trayvon Martin happen. And when these cases happen, it then becomes a precedent and then the norm. It's unfortunate that they have to be controversial because justice wasn't served. They are humans before they are their ethnicity or race or nationality, and they should be treated like a human. I'm glad you talk about it and raise awareness to it, because cases like these shouldn't have happened in the first place. Have we moved 20 steps back instead of forward?
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