Let John Calvin Stay

Part of the problem with the faux wars which are all the rage these days with states the world over, like the war on drugs or the war on terror, is that real people get caught in the crossfire. Take the case of John Calvin a 24 year old homosexual Christian from Edmonton who is being deported back to the Palestinian territories for having served in Hamas during his teenage years. Aren't we supposed to feel sympathetic for child soldiers? Instead apparently we are inarcerating them, as with Khadr, or deporting them. Never mind that there is a legitimate struggle between the displaced Palestinian people and the Israeli state which claimed their land some decades ago. Certainly if someone comes here and engages in criminal activity (such as kidnapping or murder) then by all means, throw the book at them. But to deport someone for taking part in a legitimate resistance movement by an indigenous people against a foreign occupying force is an injustice. Instead of looking to deport refugees who have fled conflicts and oppressive governments abroad we should welcome these people to our shores and in significantly greater numbers than we are presently doing. We also have a special duty to accept those who have been the victims of conflicts in which we or our close allies have played some part, such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria. If we are to play junior partner to the Hegemony's war machine then surely it is incumbent on us to also tend to the wounded.