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[New title window: Canadian Flag and text: "Deserter Haven?"] We are keeping an eye on the situation, as the Canadian government will have to decide what to do shortly. [New image: CEF] Joining us now from Raleigh, North Carolina is Chuck Fager, the Director of Quaker House. Mr. Fager counseled one of the deserters, Army private Jeremy Hinzman. [Split screen images: O’Reilly and Fager side by side]
[Comment: Such a return is unlikely. Hearings and
appeals on Jeremy's application for refugee status could take years, even if he
loses every round. And afterward, he could seek refuge in a third country.] Now when Hinzman came in to talk to you, he was already in the army, right, Mr. Fager? And what did you tell him? Fager: We told him what we told everybody else, that we offered to give them good information [Video of Jeremy pushing his son in a stroller down a snowy street in Toronto] about discharge regulations and regulations like Conscientious Objection rules, and we encouraged then to examine their situation and clarify their values and to find out what their commitments and values were [Scene change back to Fager] and to stand for those commitments. In his case, it was quite clear to him that he was not going to take part in an immoral and unchristian war and he made the choice that we stand behind. O’Reilly: [split screen, O’Reilly-Fager] Okay, did you ask him why he enlisted in the military in the first place? Fager: We talked about that some. He, like so many others that we have talked to, felt he had made an immature and mistaken decision, and one that he did not understand the implications of fully until after he had made it, and it was on the basis of re-examining those situations that he came to much more clarity about his own personal and family values, and moral values, and those personal and moral values and his clear understanding that he was asked to take part in an immoral and unchristian war led him to take the action that he did. O’Reilly: Okay, now you understand within the armed forces there is a Conscientious Objector policy where you can do, you know, see a guy like you – Fager: We understand that very well, we to talk to people – O’Reilly: Right. Fager: – about that all the time. |
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