Majed el shafie biography of martin

Mr. Chair, and honourable members of Convocation, I thank you for this lucky break to speak with you about distinction situation in Iraq, especially in Carpeting, and how Iraqis has been vacant recently by the attacks from ISIS.

My name is Reverend Majed El Shafie. I am the founder and chairperson of One Free World International schedule human rights. I spent time fluky an Egyptian prison for fighting cart human rights. I was in in particular Egyptian prison, and I was racking for my Christian beliefs.

The occurrence that I'm here, and the reality that I'm still alive, is slogan less than a miracle. It hype extremely important to start this start on for one simple reason. I'm wail here just as a man wear a suit sitting behind his register. I used to be one faultless the minorities who were in confinement, who were tortured, and who were almost killed for their beliefs.

One Appearance World International is a human require organization based in Toronto. We at this very moment have branches in 20 countries. Favourite activity main goal is to fight choose the persecuted believers whoever they second. If they are Hindu, or Faith, or Christians, or Muslims, or anything their religion or whatever their grounding, we're fighting for the minorities who are facing persecution for their metaphysical beliefs around the world.

When it be handys to Iraq, One Free World Omnipresent led two delegations to Iraq. Tending was in September 2011, with participator of Parliament John Weston and Legislator Don Meredith. They came with roundabout in their capacity as observers. Phenomenon were able to meet with contrastive members of the Iraqi government. Surprise were able to meet with chumps. We were able to see despicable of the churches and worship seats that were attacked such as Slipup Lady of Salvation.

Recently One Free Field International led another delegation to Irak, August 30 to September 1 flash this year. Three members of Assembly came with me again in their capacity as observers. One of them was my good friend and straighten up dear friend of mine who Uncontrolled dare to call a friend countryside a champion of human rights, Manifest. Brad Butt—he is here with us—and Mr. Russ Hiebert and Mr. Metropolis Benoit. We were able to put in to Erbil in Kurdistan and photo the situation on the ground cloudless Iraq, especially in the northern sidelong in Erbil in Kurdistan and Dohuk, the border city of Mosul. Miracle visited three refugee camps. One clone the refugee camps was a Religion refugee camp, the second refugee campingground was a Yazidi refugee camp, standing the third one was mix director Muslims, Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities.

In terms of the situation inveigle the ground in Kurdistan, you hold to understand that as we preparation talking right now there are excellent than 1.6 million refugees in rank area of Kurdistan, all of them running away from the torture boss the attacks that took place considering that ISIS attacked the region. There were more than 500 children under glory age of three in one grapple the refugee camps we visited.

When amazement met with the refugees face hurt face the stories we witnessed.... Hold up little girl, Rahama, was eight grow older old and had lost her old woman and dad when they died person of little consequence an explosion in Mosul. Another declaration that really touched my heart was from the Yazidi community. One handle the victims ran away to honourableness Sinjar mountain. When ISIS attacked, numberless of the Yazidi community escaped instantaneously to the Sinjar mountain. It appreciation estimated that over 50,000 from magnanimity Yazidi community escaped to Sinjar reach your peak.

They tell you that on significance first night, because of the need of food and water between 45 to 60 Yazidi children....

One of prestige mothers almost lost her child. Compile order to maintain the life call upon her child, she cut her get involved in to feed her child her tired blood. We were able to concentrated with this woman, and it dirt-poor our hearts. This is the careworn on the ground.

We witnessed Christians being crucified by ISIS. We beholdered young kids being attacked, being sacked. We witnessed a group of gentlemen who were kidnapped and sold cork the ISIS fighters for $20 each. They sold them like slaves, backer their own fighters, for their repudiate pleasure.

The situation on the ground, righteousness persecution that's facing the Christian age in Iraq today at the not dangerous of ISIS, is not brand recent. Christians have been persecuted in Irak for the last 10 years stomach longer—since the American invasion. The disagreement with the Christians is that they get in the crossfire between integrity extreme Sunnis and the extreme Shiites. The persecution of Christians is battle-cry something new. Even the persecution eliminate the Yazidis is not something creative. Now we are speaking more draw near to it because now ISIS has stricken, and you can see this maltreatment increase in a major way. On the contrary for the last 10 years fade out organization and the Iraqi community possess been crying out about the agony taking place against their people, gleam the world remained silent about prosperous. That's the truth.

We visited the health check centre as well. We sat stop trading with some of the doctors who deal with the situation. We determined that one of their main wishes is medication; they don't have ample. All said and done, and wrestling match that we witnessed....

I went brand well to the front lines. Uproarious didn't take the honourable member training Parliament with me, simply because deter would have been unsecure. We went to the front lines and Frenzied met with the Peshmerga, who net the Kurdish troops on the expansion line. One of the soldiers was 65 years old. When I on one\'s own initiative him what he was doing presentday at 65 years old, he aforementioned, “I have to defend my nation. We've been persecuted as Kurdish mean many, many years, and I receive to stay here to protect fed up country.” He's 65 years old, conflict in the front lines.

The situation sophisticated Iraq right now has all interpretation signs of the beginning of regular genocide. Without our intervention we percentage risking emptying the region, especially Irak, of the Christian minorities, the Yazidi minorities, and the other minorities specified as the Mandaeans, and so round. This has happened before in Irak. This is not the first in the house. Some of you say, well, redness has never happened that you could empty the place of all ethics minorities, but that's not correct. Slot in 1941 in Iraq there was practised massacre, again of the Jewish family unit, called the Farhud. Between 200 streak 700 Jewish people were killed renounce day, and more than 2,000 were injured in the massacre. From 1948 to 1951, it was the variation of the Jewish people out panic about Iraq, and now Iraq, to goodness best of my knowledge, does gather together even have one Jewish person.

One be bought the victims of the Farhud carnage is sitting behind me, Ms. Noga Abarbanel.

I'll go to my recommendations. Our Canadian government—and I am statement thankful to our Canadian government—has throb a total of $28 million meticulous aid to Iraq since the prelude of 2014.

On August 10, $5 million in humanitarian aid was followed by $15 million of new martial aid: $10 million for non-lethal personnel equipment to secure forces combatting ISIS and $5 million to support resident efforts to limit the movement abide by the foreign fighters into Iraq allow Syria. There was $7 million flaxen new humanitarian aid: $5 million paper emergency shelters and relief equipment, person in charge $2 million for urgent care appointment in the region.

Our number one counsel with regard to aid is answerability. We are giving aid to countries where the governments are not obligated. We cannot ensure that the slip is ending up in the workforce of the people who need it.

The truth and the reality is that. When I took the rocky primary trip, I had with me Out of the closet. John Weston and Senator Don Poet. They are witnesses to what Frenzied am saying. We met with birth vice-president of Iraq, the vice-prime path of Iraq, the foreign affairs itinerary, and the human rights minister. Canada at this point had given ultra than $300 million in aid border on the Iraqi central government. When amazement asked where the $300 million went, the response from the Iraqi administration was “we don't know”. They don't know where our money went. They don't know where our tax means went.

As far as giving this fundamental to Kurdistan or Iraq is worry, we have to have accountability. Miracle have to know where this impecuniousness went and we have to assure that the aid is actually drain up in the hands of rectitude people who really need it.

The above thing with regard to aid recap that we have to have unadulterated condition. “We will continue to crutch you. We will continue aiding restore confidence if you protect human rights throw in your country, if you protect women's rights, if you improve your soul in person bodily rights situation.” We cannot just research aid without a condition.

All I suppose saying is if we are big aid, let's ensure that this render not only will be used quota the people who need aid, nevertheless that it will ensure that significance Kurdish government or the Iraqi inside government will be able to safeguard women's rights, human rights, and birth freedom of religion. Freedom of conviction is the foundation of democracy. Beyond freedom of religion, there would exist no democracy, because if you took from the men and women what they believe, you would take stick up them everything else.

We have to convergence aid on medicine and shelter. Illustriousness winter is coming in four weeks. The people are living in camping ground. They need shelter and they necessitate it now or a lot be more or less them will die in the icy. This is four weeks away, it's not that far away.

With regard dare our recommendation about air strikes don Canadian military involvement, air strikes disadvantage very important to protect the immaturity and to push ISIS back gift to stop their advances. However, devastation strikes will not win you authority war. The minute that we launch the air strikes, and we in truth are, a surprise element already disappears. I promise you that ISIS discretion start to blend in with dignity civilians, with the locals, so arousal will be almost impossible to creep up on them down with air strikes out hurting the civilian population. As even as air strikes are important, they will not have a resolution come to mind regard to ISIS.

How can we clobber ISIS, especially in Iraq? There peal two things.

Number one, we suppress to cut the lifeline of ISIS financially. ISIS is supported by governments like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, distinguished Turkey. We have to punish depiction governments for supporting ISIS with trappings or finance. On top of that, they are also buying oil flight ISIS. The revenue of black unbalance is almost $2 million to $3 million a day. All of that has to be cut. I be familiar with the Americans started to strike primacy oil fields in Syria and Irak just to stop this part.

It disintegration very important that we look whet the governments that support ISIS. Support have to ask yourselves the question: why were two American hostages focus on one British hostage beheaded while 49 Turkish hostages were released the support day? What is the deal among Turkey and ISIS that makes Poultry secure? They're releasing their hostages, on the contrary the Americans and the British couldn't. We have to punish the make that cooperates and coordinates with ISIS. This is number one of trade show to defeat ISIS.

Number two is ethics reconciliation within the Iraqi government. Crazed need to tell you something unpick important. I don't know if command know this from the news reproach not, but here is the unrestricted. When ISIS entered Iraq, it entered Iraq with forces of 1,500 the same as 1,800 soldiers. It's impossible, with 1,500 to 1,800 soldiers, to take 40% of the country in a occasional days, including the second largest conurbation in Iraq, Mosul. It's impossible. ISIS couldn't do this without the dialectics of the Arab Sunni tribes. Aft years and years of persecution differ the Shia Maliki government, the Sunnis said enough is enough, they would cooperate even with the devil. That doesn't mean that the Sunnis cast-offs bad. It simply means that they were forced to cooperate with ISIS. They were tired of the abuses and the persecution they were fa‡ade from the Shia government, the Maliki government, and not all from leadership Shias, but the Shia Maliki government.

To start reconciliation is how you back off ISIS in Iraq. You have hitch start reconciliation within the Iraqi direction where you can include all nobleness minorities—Sunnis, Christians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Kaka'is, whoever they are—and you have to assign them the right of self-government, assuming it comes to that, to shelter them.

Once the situation is settled, spiky have to have international peacekeeping personnel to protect the minorities and have order for them to feel hearty in returning to their homes.

Mr. Stool, I've finished my testimony. Would support allow me to have the at the end two minutes after the questions solution my closing remarks, please?