i don't know what to say. i'm simply ashamed of what's happening here...
i want to believe that the conservative government is at fault; that everyone who voted for Harper as a strategic alternative to the fiscally-irresponsible liberals shot him/herself in the foot.. but i know i'm running from the possibility of the liberals having done the same due to a political climate dominated by hypocrites, bullies and opportunists
as with every other move meant to 'isolate oppressive regimes,' this will only hurt ordinary people - iranians wishing to come here, or those already here, for whom it will become infinitely more difficult to visit loved ones... gather official documents..
. live, in short, with the knowledge that an official route exists
case in point: yesterday, we spent 20 minutes devising various strategies that will allow farzaneh to renew her passport
and on a personal note - i wanted desperately to visit in the next few years.. how can i do that now
we have made a giant leap forward in the isolation and alienation of 100,000 iranian-canadians (those, that is, who still have ties at home; who are here for the freedom of maintaining those ties). and for a country that prides itself on hyphenated identities... this is absolutely ludicrous