Start with the facts: Benefits of messengers Are messengers reckless? When is a license just another label? What is the disguised name for employee? Messenger Appreciation Messenger Memorial The IFBMA
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Courier This is a partial article read it all at Axis of Logic JEREMY HINZMAN LEADS WAY FOR U.S. WAR RESISTERS IN CANADA Initial Denial of Refugee Status Only a Bump in the Road AxisofLogic.com, April 20, 2005 by Gerry Condon Five days a week, Jeremy Hinzman, a native of South Dakota, doggedly rides his bicycle through the snow-laden streets of Toronto (now thawing). Since receiving his Canadian work permit, he has been employed as a bicycle messenger, a job he had "been wanting to try for eons." Jeremy is 26 and in excellent shape. He is a long distance runner and has run a couple of marathons since he arrived in Canada in January 2004. Nonetheless, he admits to being exhausted when he arrives home from work. "It’s a good thing I started this job at the most difficult time of year," he says. "It can only get easier from here." This philosophical attitude and the stamina of a long distance runner have served Jeremy well ever since August 2, 2002, when, as a soldier in the U.S. Army, he asked to be classified as a Conscientious Objector and reassigned to a non-combat job. It takes a lot of fortitude for a soldier to declare himself a Conscientious Objector. Although military law makes provisions for soldiers who decide they are pacifists, many soldiers are not informed of this option. Pursuing Conscientious Objector status is frowned upon, especially in a gung-ho unit like Jeremy’s – the 82nd Airborne. "C.O." applicants are called coward and traitors. Some have even been physically and sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. But Jeremy had the right stuff. He had a profound commitment to seek spiritual direction in his life. And he had the courage to follow his conscience, wherever it led him. He had converted to Catholicism in high school. Even while in Army training, he was reading about the Buddhist philosophy of living. On Sundays, Jeremy and his wife attended the Quaker meeting in Fayetteville, North Carolina, next to Fort Bragg, the "Home of the Airborne." They enjoyed the weekly group meditations and were inspired by the pacifist message of the Quakers. Jeremy, an active duty airborne troop in a time of war, came to realize that he could not in good conscience carry a weapon or kill another human being. Despite this epiphany, Jeremy did not want to break his contract with the military. Motivated largely by his desire for higher education, he had enlisted for a 3-year tour in the Army. Most Conscientious Objectors seek to be discharged from the military. But even though he harbored doubts about the wars the U.S. was waging in Afghanistan and Iraq, Jeremy was nonetheless willing to go to war in a non-combat capacity. After all, the vast majority of military occupations do not require one to be personally involved in killing. He could be a cook, an administrative assistant, a mechanic, maybe even a medic. The Army would have done itself a big favor if it had acknowledged Jeremy’s sincerity and granted him duty that he found compatible with his moral beliefs. But that’s not the way the Army works. On Halloween 2002, Jeremy was informed that the Conscientious Objector application he had submitted three months earlier had been "lost." He was then ordered to ship to Afghanistan. Jeremy was dismayed but he obeyed. He shipped with his unit to Afghanistan on December 7, 2002. Before doing so, however, he resubmitted paperwork asking that he be recognized as a Conscientious Objector and assigned to appropriate non-combat duties. - Snip – Jeremy and the War Resisters: Still in Canada Jeremy Hinzman is spending another day pushing the pedals of his bicycle through the busy streets of Toronto. When he comes home to Nga and Liam, he is too tired to worry about his situation. He has given scores of interviews to U.S., Canadian and international media, but he tries not to get caught up in all the fuss. On Sundays, he and his family attend the Toronto Quaker Meeting. Jeremy and Nga frequently socialize with their many friends. It seems as if they have lived in Toronto forever. Liam is working his way through the "terrible two’s," and hoping for another ride on the back of Jeremy’s bike. "We’ve got a life here," says Jeremy, without any second thoughts, "and a good one too." Because he had the courage to follow his conscience, Jeremy and his family have found a new home in Canada. Whether it will be a temporary home or a permanent one may not be known for months, even years. But his Canadian supporters are upbeat and optimistic. "We have a long way to go," says Lee Zaslofsky. "But we're confident that Canada will not become an enforcement arm of the Pentagon. These war resisters will be staying in Canada as long as they wish." The War Resister Support Campaign believes the Refugee Board decision was just the first step in a long struggle. It’s a good thing Jeremy is a long distance runner. He is likely to win in the end. Some would argue he already has. To support Jeremy go to: War Resisters or Jeremy's site ----------- Gerry Condon deserted from the U.S. Army in 1969 after refusing to fight in Vietnam. He lived for 3 years in Sweden and 3 years in Canada, before returning to the U.S. in 1975 as part of the campaign for amnesty for all war resisters. Although an Army court martial had sentenced him to 10 years in prison, he never spent a day in jail. He now serves as director of Project Safe Haven, and can be reached at projectsafehaven@hotmail.com or through the website, www.SoldierSayNo.org.
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