Fabio Marchioro

Obama came. Obama left. It was all over in less than seven hours and more than CAN$ 2 million all for Obama’s sake. Nevertheless, it was one of those short visits that guests and hosts want to last longer. He was courteous, attentive and broke the security protocol walking away from the protective shell of “The Beast” (his armoured limo, not Harper) to wave to the people that waited for him in front of Parliament House.

Is he an experienced diplomat or a perfectly honed marketing tool? He found a way to visit a market and even bought cookies to take to his daughters. As a matter of fact, he tried to buy the cookies. He even gestured over the counter with a crispy green 20 Canadian dollars bill when the woman that handed him (the now internationally famous) brown groceries bag, waved him off. Continue reading

Eduardo is 13 years old. He runs. He’s very agile. No one can stop him. Through alleys, up hills or over rooftops, he’s the best. He wears only sandals and knee length shorts. An AK47 dangles from a leather strap around his neck. His small dark hands are always holding it, caressing it. Eduardo named the weapon: Manuela. Don’t bother asking him why. He won’t tell. A friend said something about a broken heart. The weapon is part of his body, an extension of his arms. It sleeps in Eduardo’s bed; it stays by his side when he is eating and even when he is bathing in a nearby river. It’s never more than a step away.

Omar, 21, lived many years in Canada but resides, for now, at the Guantanamo Base in Cuba. He is in prison because, when he was 14, he was accused of throwing a grenade that injured one and killed another American soldier in Afghanistan. His father, a close friend to Osama Bin Laden, was what is called a “freedom fighter”. He died in the battlefield. Omar’s brother lost a leg fighting the coalition forces near Kabul, and his mother and sister, who live in Toronto, openly preach war against westerners, mainly through suicide bombers. The young the attacker, the better.
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