Letter Writing Campaign to Dalhousie University

I am shocked and horrified and find it reprehensible that you would permit Omar Khadr to share a stage with fine and honourable men like Romeo Dallaire and Ishmael Beah.

According to the International Criminal Court, the recruitment of children under age 15 for military purposes is a war crime. Omar Khadr was not a "child soldier". If any term is to be applied to him it should be that he was a victim of child abuse. As a member of Canada's first family of terrorism, he was brainwashed from birth to believe that anyone who is not a radical Islamist is an infidel. He was taught hatred and lied to and read passages from the Koran that justify any killing of infidels. Years of brainwashing by his terrorist family trained Omar well. He threw the grenade in Afghanistan that killed American Christopher Speers and blinded Sgt. Layne Morris.

In Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Syian Arab Republic, Yemen - in the refugee camps of Chad, Somalia and Sudan - warlords are recruiting children. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers around the world, including a significant proportion of girls. They are often kidnapped at gunpoint, made to perform unspeakable acts and unwillingly recruited. It is an insult to all of these innocent children to call Omar Khadr a child soldier.

Omar Khadr was not drugged, handcuffed and dragged off at gunpoint to kill an American soldier in Afghanistan. Neither was he drugged, handcuffed and dragged off like Ishmael Beah in Sierra Leone and forced to commit despicable acts and then have to endure a long and painful journey of recovery when he was finally saved. Omar Khadr on the other hand was rewarded with a payment of $10.5 million of Canadian taxpayers money by his groupie Justin Trudeau.

To use the term "child soldier" on the likes of Omar Khadr denigrates and insults the 300,000 child soldiers around the world and that such a fine University as Dalhousie would even allow this unrepentant killer to speak does not serve you well. I believe this invitation should be rescinded.

Yours sincerely,

This is a SAMPLE letter. Please write your own.

Here are the addresses:

Write to:

Deep Saini, President and Vice-Chancellor
Deep.Saini@dal.ca

And cc:

Erin Stewart-Reid, Chief of Staff and Executive Director (Acting)

Erin@dal.ca

Chloe Westlake, Senior Manager, Communications and Special Projects

Chloe.Westlake@dal.ca

Robin Beaton, Executive Assistant and Events Coordinator

Robin.Beaton@dal.ca