Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 18th, 2012

[Faisal Alazem]

They were from Lebanon, exactly. Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria.

Interestingly, Iranian Revolutionary Guards were caught in Damascus. When they were asked what they were doing there, they said that yes, they were Revolutionary Guards. But when Iranian foreign affairs spoke about it, they said they were tourists in Damascus. This is quite interesting, people who are tourists right now in Syria.

Definitely, Iran is playing a huge role. I can tell you that my e-mail account was hacked from Iran.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

We know that Iran is funding fighters there. What, in your view, would happen if the international community tried to enforce a no-fly zone in Syria? What, in your opinion, would Iran do if the international community tried to suppress Assad's air force?

[Faisal Alazem]

We are giving Iran and even Russia, in my opinion, a bigger role than what they actually have. I'm absolutely certain that if a no-fly zone were imposed in Syria, and if safe havens.... And by the way, there are liberated areas in Syria.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

They are along the border.

[Faisal Alazem]

Abdulbaset Sieda, the head of the SNC, and Burhan Ghalioun have entered Syria, and there are liberated areas. Hillary Clinton has even said, give us a liberated area and we'll protect it.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Where are those? Can you just tell us quickly?

[Faisal Alazem]

For example, they are on the border of Turkey and Syria, near Kilis and Idlib. As well, 60% of Aleppo is under the control of rebels. The problem is that whenever you liberate an area, and then you have jet fighters bombing you from the sky, it's hard to maintain.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you. That's all the time we have.

We're going to move to the last question of this first round.

Mr. Eyking, you have seven minutes, please.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you for coming.

Mariam, that was a very good, but shocking, presentation. It's terrible to hear. I just hope that all foreign affairs committees around the world hear that, because a lot of times we don't really know what's going on, on the ground. I commend you for that.

Faisal, has your Syrian Canadian Council ever asked for a meeting with the foreign affairs minister?

[Faisal Alazem]

I've met him myself, and we met him with Father Paolo, if you've heard of him. He's an Italian priest who was in Syria and was kicked out for criticizing the regime. We met with the foreign affairs minister, John Baird, approximately two months ago.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

It's interesting how you alluded to the fact that many of these other countries are in a position similar to our own, in terms of our economy or our situation, and it's probably European countries and other countries like them that are stepping up to the plate quite a bit better than we are and doing more than we are. There were already allusions made to different things, whether it's scholarships or dealing with political refugees or family reunification.

Is Mr. Baird moving towards moving on some of these things, or do we have to do them through a motion? What's the sense on this?

[Faisal Alazem]

To be honest with you, we gave the foreign minister a study on how Canada can support Syria. There were different ideas, different projects; even telecommunications were involved, actually. For example, one idea was to buy...activists could film what's happening. There was help to better coordinate scholarships, and even family reunification. These have already been mentioned to the Government of Canada.

We've warned as well about the Red Crescent. We put forward a project to the foreign minister. It's to finance field hospitals inside Syria, and it was extremely close to our heart because we know what happens in Syrian hospitals. We know that when you are detained there and you come in with a bullet wound or you have blood on you, almost certainly you will be detained or killed. So the field hospital project was very important. Initially the government gave $2 million to finance this project, but to our surprise—and we heard it in the media—the $2 million was withdrawn and was given to the Red Cross and Red Crescent. As I said in my testimony, the Red Crescent in Syria does not make a move without a green light from the regime.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

That's shocking. We heard how CIDA cut that money, and it wasn't a lot of money. It's not only shocking that they've stopped making these field hospitals, but that the money's going to the wrong area. It's almost counterproductive to what we're doing. Can you tell us a little bit more about these field hospitals and who is putting them together, and about the project and the impact, as well as about the impact the Conservative government is having on these field hospitals not being there by not giving the money?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

A point of order. It's not that CIDA withdrew the money; the money was given—

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

It's my time—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

That's not a point of order. We can have clarification afterwards.

Mr. Eyking.

[Faisal Alazem]

That project is being driven by an organization called the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations. It's based in Paris. It's registered in Paris, and the French Government has even given it funding. So far they have created 25 field hospitals inside Syria.

One of the main drivers from Canada is a doctor called Dr. Anas Al-Kassem, who lives in Oakville. He has been inside Syria. I think he still is. I saw a communication from him. He was the first doctor from Canada to let Doctors Without Borders into Syria. Doctors Without Borders didn't want to say officially that they were operating inside Syria, and he got them inside these field hospitals. We're still hoping actually that we will get financing for this project, because it's very dear to our hearts and it is making a difference.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

It's not too late for the Canadian government to say, “Look, that money could still be used to build these hospitals. It could be a really good win-win for Canadians and the Syrian people to help build these hospitals.”

You were talking about that doctor in Oakville. He could help facilitate this.

[Faisal Alazem]

Absolutely. He's been in communication with the government, and our communication was that it's sad that Syrians would have to pay a price for maybe political conflicts inside Canada. I don't know why this money was shifted to another area, but the price is that people are getting killed.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Do I have any more time?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

You have a minute and a half.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

I'd like to ask a bit about the Syrian population in Canada, the diaspora. They must be watching this really closely. As you mentioned, you and your grandfather are here. What are they expecting from us as Canadians, besides funding for the hospitals? What more are they expecting us as the Canadian government to do? Is it intervening internationally or...? What would their number one or two priorities for us really be for the next few months?

[Faisal Alazem]

As I said, domestically, what we can work on is the family reunification, the scholarships, the humanitarian side. If we are able to make, in the short term, the rebel fighters or the freedom fighters in Syria more coherent and support them...by the way, it shouldn't only be arms; it could be telecom equipment, intelligence information, There are different ways.

I don't think it's news to you that Iran and Russia are running the show in Syria. You had the Turkish speaker. The Turkish plane that fell on the coast of Syria...it's no surprise to anyone in Syria that the Russians were involved in that operation.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

I spent some time in Damascus; I was in Syria a few years ago. It seemed to me very similar to being in Cuba. Everything is kind of held back—the vehicles are older.

For Syrian Canadian citizens, how is the communication? Can they communicate? Can they phone? Is the Internet available? How are they communicating with their loved ones and their relatives back and forth?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

That's all the time, but I'll let you answer the question.