Mother Alison Azer has not seen or spoken with her four children, aged 3 to 11, in eight months, since her husband violated a court order and abducted them to Kurdistan in northern Iraq. Alison has traveled there herself to search for them, and gone to Ottawa and the national media to plead her case, but she remains without her children. On Everything is Political, Alison Azer pleads directly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help her get her kids back to Canada:
“I don’t doubt he’s a very busy man, but my multiple requests for 15 minutes of his time have gone unfulfilled…. I would ask him to think about how he feels as a parent for his children. To think how a simple act like running your hand through your child’s hair or get them out of the bath and wrap them in a big fluffy towel and read them a story. I would ask him how much does he treasure… how much does he treasure those moments that I have been denied for eight months… and the opportunity to be a mom. And I want him to think about what he would expect of his government if these were his kids in a war zone and why my kids aren’t home.”
You can listen to the full interview here. Vigils for the Azer children are being held across the country.
This interview tears me apart. These are my nieces and nephews, and my sister’s anguish is killing me. Thanks for doing the interview, Ms. Kheiriddin, and for anything else you can do to help bring these four young children home to Canada. In my opinion, the Prime Minister, like the previous one, has passed the buck on this file, and seems preoccupied with State Dinners and photo opportunities. I ask that everyone in Canada who knows this story lets their MPs and the PM know that anything other than the safe and immediate return of these children is completely unacceptable and shameful. If it takes quid pro quo, arm twisting, and conditions on assistance, then that’s what it must take. I miss the brave, principled, not to be mistreated Canada and Canadian leaders of old. We need them right now.