Cry from the heart of a Liberal MP | “These are generations who will experience these pains”

(Ottawa) Arriving in Canada after fleeing the civil war in Burundi, Arielle Kayabaga is one of the 23 Liberal elected officials who called for a ceasefire in Gaza almost a month ago. War, therefore, she knows.

“I lived through the genocide. I know what wars are, I know what they do to children, to families. These are generations who will experience this pain, endure the atrocious realities that [résultent] wars,” she said in an interview.

“Frankly, I don’t know what else to say or do so that we get to the point where Israel stops killing these children,” adds the MP for London West, Ontario, in impeccable French.

Arielle Kayabaga was 11 years old when she fled ethnic violence in Burundi. In this neighboring country of Rwanda, the civil war^⁠1 caused by the divisions between Hutus and Tutsis left around 300,000 dead starting in 1993.

Here she is now prey to a feeling of helplessness. “It’s very hard to watch this from a distance,” breathes the elected official, now 33 years old.

A feeling of powerlessness also because she does not have the power to influence the government’s position. If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toughened his tone towards Israel on Tuesday, he did not go so far as to demand a cessation of hostilities, as Emmanuel Macron had done.

“I also have the impression that a request for a ceasefire from the Government of Canada may not be possible before all Canadians who are in Gaza can leave,” she says.

“That’s my interpretation. I am not saying that this is the minister’s position [Mélanie] Nice, but I think there’s probably a connection. So I’m waiting to see,” notes the mother of a 14-year-old boy.

The exit of Canadians stuck in the Gaza Strip towards Egypt continues, but we are far from counting – 367 people were able to cross the border, but Ottawa says it is “in contact” with 386 citizens, residents and members of their families.

Difficult balance

Like Canadian society, the elected representatives of the House of Commons are torn on the issue of the ceasefire. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must play a balancing act to accommodate both parties.

Easier said than done: on Tuesday, he attracted the wrath of both camps.

In real life, the one he led in Vancouver, he had to quickly evacuate a restaurant which was surrounded by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Around a hundred police officers had to intervene to remove him from the establishment.

In virtual space, he was reprimanded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It is not Israel that deliberately targets civilians,” while Hamas “does everything” to put civilians in danger, he thundered on X.

The Israeli leader’s reaction to this “deserved” criticism did not surprise New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party demands a ceasefire. “He is someone who has extremist words and values,” he said at a press briefing.

Voting at the UN

The leader was asked to comment on Canada’s vote against a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli occupation activities, but remained unclear. His deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice was not. “A shame,” he wrote on X.

MP Arielle Kayabaga intends to ask questions on this subject: “We would like to have answers about this change, because it would be a change. This seems very contradictory to me, so I’m eager to know what made us vote like that. »

Because the Canadian position is that of a two-state solution, she recalls.

Generally speaking, the Ontario representative believes that there will be lessons to be learned from the war. And that his generation, that of the millennials, will be at the forefront. “It’s this generation that will bring about the change we need in the future,” she believes.

⁠1. The ethnic violence which left hundreds of thousands dead in Burundi is not considered a genocide by the United Nations. The civil war, which broke out in 1993, ended with the Arusha Accord in 2000.