Deserter Builds New Life in Canada
Three-Years Later, former U.S. Army Sergeant has no Regrets
Before the fifth anniversary of the March 20 Invasion of Iraq, a former Sergeant in the United States Army talks about why he went to Canada instead of Iraq.
Nobody in the U.S. Army expected Patrick Hart to go AWOL. A career soldier for almost 10-years, the former Army Sergeant was scheduled to go to Iraq with the 101st Airborne in September 2005. Instead, he went to Canada and applied for refugee status.
“On the bus to Buffalo, I was throwing up along the side of the road,” he recalls. “That whole ride, I was shaking.”
Hart had been allowed to leave Fort Campbell, Ky., so he could watch the Buffalo Bills play in his New York hometown a month before his deployment. After the game, his parents drove him to Canada where he would meet with the War Resisters Support Campaign.
“I could rationalize Afghanistan, that’s where Bin Laden was,” he says. “But I had guys coming up to me going ‘Sarge, what are we still doing in Iraq? Saddam didn’t do 9/11. Saddam isn’t in power anymore. He doesn’t have any WMDs. What’s the deal?’ I didn’t have any answers.”
During an 11-month tour in Kuwait, Hart heard stories from friends in Iraq that literally gave him nightmares. Many of those same friends now struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hart also saw photos and videos of dead Iraqi insurgents and civilians, including children. The images were usually made by soldiers, and showed Iraqis being harassed or shot at by troops.
Some pictures showed children with chemical burns. Other images showed the desecration of dead insurgents and civilians, including one of a dead insurgent with his finger up his nose.
“Nobody should have to see that stuff. Some of it’ll haunt you,” he says.
“When I returned from my Kuwait tour in March of 2004, I’d watch this stuff and try and build up my hatred towards the enemy,” he says. “But I couldn’t become that person.”
Hart decided that he was finished with the military, and wanted out. What stopped him from leaving was his son Rian, then 3, who was diagnosed with epilepsy. “There was no way I could find a job that would give me the same health benefits as the army,” he said. “Rian needed his meds.”
Determined not to go to Iraq, it became clear that Hart’s only option was Canada. There, he could take advantage of Canada’s free healthcare, and secure a work permit. Most importantly, he could not be deported to the United States as a refugee applicant.
“I’m 34, not 18. If I go back, they’re really going to make an example of me.” If Hart returns to the United States, he could face a minimum of 30-years in prison if convicted of desertion.
Today, Hart lives in Toronto with Rian and his wife, Jill. The family does not plan on returning to the United States anytime soon, and they have no regrets about leaving.
The family has adjusted to their new life in Canada comfortably, according to Hart. “I used to lose all my money in the casinos here,” he laughs. “Canada’s not that foreign to me. Actually, I honeymooned here in Toronto.”
The husband and wife team are active with the War Resisters Support Campaign, and Hart has since become one of 25 resisters to apply for refugee status in Canada. “The war resisters have very big hearts,” he says. “And the beer in Canada is cheaper.”
So far, none of the applicants have been granted refugee status. There is an estimated 200 additional resisters living in Canada, according to the War Resisters Support Campaign.
