Afghanistan Veterans
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“It is worth it for my family and the country, sir.” These words have been running through my mind in the last few days.
They were said through a grimace of pain by a Canadian soldier in a military hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, where wounded Canadian and American military personnel were brought from the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones for emergency surgery.
Peter MacKay was the Canadian Defense Minister, while I was the International Cooperation appointee in the shadow cabinet. We had journeyed to various NATO meetings in Europe, each of them dominated by the Afghanistan war. Canada had been one of the early nations to join in the effort following the 9/11 attacks. We were fortunate to stop off at this special hospital on the way home from Lithuania.
It was another world, filled with grim determination, the occasional groan of pain, and remarkable individuals lying on gurneys, as they sought to come to terms with their broken bodies. I watched with great admiration as MacKay moved from soldier to soldier, placing his hand on their shoulder and thanking them for their remarkable service. It was also a theatre of tears, including my own, where dedicated medical personnel performed miracles, and Canadian soldiers wondered how their bodies could ever be put back together.
MacKay and I felt the emotion when the soldier responded to our gratitude and respect by saying the sacrifice was worth it because of his love for family and country. I wonder what that veteran would think now as the world watches Afghanistan collapse in on itself.
Later that year, as a member of both the Status of Women and Foreign Affairs committees, I listened to the testimony of Afghan women leaders pointing out the terrifying implications of what would happen if coalition forces pulled out before the peace could be won. These women worked with Canadian soldiers and development personnel to build schools, train leaders, and aid in the struggle for women’s rights. Many observed that they would be killed if the Taliban retook the country, mainly because they had cooperated with Western forces. Is that prophecy now coming true? All of us shudder to think about it.
Over 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan. Thousands were wounded, and, tragically, 158 of them were killed in that long war, including some from this city. Canadian military personnel finally left that war-torn country in March 2014, many of them worried that the scenario we are watching right now would occur.
It was this country’s longest war and likely the most confounding. Targeting blame is relatively easy in tragic situations like this, and there is plenty of it to go around. There have been many comments about the waste of the entire campaign. Everyone has an opinion, and Canadians are rightly confused. But the family members of those who were lost or returned in significant physical and emotional turmoil believe that it was the courageous actions of their loved ones that not only saved the lives of thousands in Afghanistan but proved essential to denying the bases of terrorism that had brought about 9/11.
This column isn’t about assigning blame or providing lessons learned. It is a sincere “thank you” to all those Canadians and their families who endured a war that proved difficult to comprehend but also worthy enough of this country’s greatest sacrifice.
In her marvellous book Room, this city’s Emma Donoghue wrote, “Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.”
We were all fearful following the nightmarish images of 9/11, but some vigilant Canadians ventured through that fear and actually did something about it. The harrowing failure of recent months cannot undo the commitment of 40,000 Canadians to a better world. To belittle that dedication is to minimize the best that is in all of us.
The remarkable audacity of those Canadian wounded that evening in a Frankfurt hospital revealed the best of Canada in a troubled world. If it all falls apart, it won’t be through their efforts. War is hell and frequently doesn’t come out as hoped. The cruelty we are watching from Afghanistan is the reality of what our soldiers were fighting when they shipped over there. That battle will continue, but without some brave Canadians that were lost along the way.
