By Courage to Resist. Posted July 13, 2009
Courage to Resist and supporters delivered 6,000 signatures in support of Kimberly Rivera and all war resisters seeking refuge in Canada on July 8th. After a vigil in front of the Canadian Consulate in downtown San Francisco, the gathering made there way upstairs to make their case directly to a representative of the consulate. Watch Bill Carpenter's 6:30 min. video below.
The following day in Toronto, Canada, the federal judge in Kimberly Rivera's appeal to remain in Canada "reserved his decision." Following the hearing, Kimberly stated,
I shouldn't have to destroy my family for deciding not to destroy somebody else's family.I want to stay in Canada, with my family, because the Iraq War is immoral, illegal and I couldn’t in good conscience go back. The amount of support I’m getting from Canadians is amazing. The parents of my kids’ friends, MPs and even strangers on the street keep telling me that they can’t believe the votes in Parliament aren’t being respected.-Kimberly Rivera, Iraq War resister
Kimberly Rivera is the first outspoken female Iraq War resister to publicly and legally seek refuge in Canada. Kimberly, along with her partner Mario, son Christian (7 years old) and daughter Rebecca (4 years old), fled to Canada in January 2007 when Kimberly refused redeployment. In late November 2008 Kimberly gave birth to her Canadian daughter Katie (8 months old). She served in Iraq in 2006 and experienced, firsthand, the reality of this ongoing illegal war and occupation.
The conservative Harper government has been trying to deport Kimberly for months, defying Canada’s longstanding tradition of providing sanctuary to U.S. war resisters. On July 8th, Kimberly went to Canadian federal court, to appeal the decision in her Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. If her appeal fails, she will be asked to leave Canada, or be forcibly removed – and delivered into the custody and jurisdiction of the United States Army where Kimberly will face charges that could carry up to a four month sentence in the stockade. So far, three Iraq War resisters have been deported from Canada.
-thanks to Courage to Resist
"As I expected, not long after presenting this to my whole chain of command and refusing to go on not just one but several flights going to Iraq, I was fined, demoted, incarcerated and then discharged."
The logic of direct GI resistance is simple; To withhold your labor from something you think is morally wrong, simply saying, I have chosen not participate in something that is at odds with my values and I will tell the military this face to face with pride and dignity so others can learn from my example.
It is different than indirect GI resistance such as desertion in that the servicemember takes a direct stand and does not avoid confrontation with the institution which opposes his moral code but welcomes this confrontation as a means to fight silence among the ranks. Some resisters such as Steve Yoczik and myself had statements of our intentions to present to our chain of command.My statement of intent
To: McKean, D. Scott, LTC, 1-66 AR, 1 BDE, 4ID
Feb, 25, 2008
I, SPC. Carl John Davison, HHC, 1-66 AR, 1 BDE, 4ID, under the burden of conscience and with strong resolve must inform you that when facing a dilemma between my sense of what is right and decent and the demands of my chosen profession, I have, after years of fighting myself over this issue, chosen the former, and in doing so choose to disassociate myself with modern warfare and any institution in support of it.
I understand that in a disciplined military force conduct such as this can not and will not be tolerated, because it is important to maintain order and discipline. I also understand that we in the U.S. military are in no position to question the validity of the orders we are given by congress or the executive office, and that we all swore oaths to obey all orders of the President of the United States and the orders of all officers appointed over us.
Under the principle of civil disobedience (which states that if a law or rule conflicts with a higher moral law it is morally acceptable to break it as long as you face the consequences of your actions out of respect to that higher law and out of respect to the offended parties, in this case the U.S. Army and U.S. Government), I uncontestedly accept any and all punishments given to me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for refusing to deploy to Iraq, I will soon submit a request for a consciences objection discharge 1-0, under Army Regulation 600-43, and Department of Defense Directive 1300.6 which is a chapter 5 discharge.
I am applying the principle of civil disobedience to hopefully contrast myself with those who are not acting on principles and those who prefer to run to Canada, unlike them I prefer to stand my ground and face any consequences.
In my actions I mean no disrespect to the soldiers and marines who sacrifice everyday on the orders of those in Washington D.C., who (most of which) have never served or fought and yet they send others to do so.
My beliefs on the evils of governments and war are not new, I've held these views since I subscribed to the Tolstoyian Christian-Anarchist ideologies before I joined the military in January, 2001, but I have purposely suppressed my views that governments are inherently based on violence and that warfare in general is brutal, against the natural laws of God and humanity and it undermines human dignity and divinity and any search for a more peaceful alternative. I mainly suppressed my views for some in my family who would find them intolerable, but this I can no longer do.
I am by no means trying to insult anyone else's beliefs, which come from their own knowledge, experiences and dictates of conscience, I am only trying to declare my libertarian-pacifistic views and what I must do.
SPC. Carl John Davison
And just as I expected, not long after presenting this to my whole chain of command and refusing to go on not just one but several flights going to Iraq, I was fined, demoted, incarcerated and then discharged in September. I stood confident in the fact that I was not alone, thanks to groups like IVAW and Courage to Resist and the many other GIs before me starting with Stephen Funk and then Camilo Mejia (in this era) and currently Victor Agosto and Travis Bishop have taken the same stand and countless before us against the unjust war in Vietnam. We posed a simple question,
“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” -Thomas Jefferson
