Next week simultaneous candlelight vigils from Nanaimo to Cape Breton will be held for the four kidnapped Azer children.
Family, friends and supporters of Alison Azer, who was raised in St. Albert, will also come together for an outdoor vigil at Elmer Gish School on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m.
Unfortunately Alison Azer is unable to attend. That night she is participating in vigil in Nanaimo. Her sister, Elizabeth van Egteren, will speak on Azer’s behalf.
The abduction of Azer’s four children grabbed international headlines after her ex-husband, Dr. Saren Azer, a well-respected physician, failed to return to the family home base in Courtney, British Columbia in contravention of a court-approved trip to Europe.
Instead he secretly flew out of Dusseldorf Airport with the children. Security footage showed him landing at Sulaymaniah Airport in Iraq with Sharvahn, 11, Rojevahn, 9, Dersim, 7, and Meitan, 3.
It was later believed he took his children to the Quandil Mountains in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq, an outpost of the PKK terrorist organization.
Since the Aug. 2015 kidnapping, Azer has travelled to Iraq in search of the children, rallied politicians, connected with high profile dignitaries and mustered massive support from strangers.
“A lot of people are outraged with the government that it’s been eight months and the children still aren’t home,” said Melissa Zawaduk, Grade 3 teacher at Elmer Gish and an organizer of Gish’s candlelight vigil.
Zawaduk became a close family friend when Sharvahn was enrolled in her class several years ago. She is concerned for the children’s whereabouts and their safety.
The Quandil Mountains are a central command post for the PKK and a focal point of global conflict. With the coming of spring, bombing has intensified.
“There is speculation that the PKK has moved out of Iraq and they (Azer children) may not be there anymore. We knew where they were before, but if they’ve moved who knows if we’ll ever find them again,” Zawaduk stated.
The Canada-wide vigils were prompted after St. Albert MP Michael Cooper, deputy critic for justice, made a statement in the House of Commons on March 21 on behalf of the abducted children.
“Mr. Speaker, it has been more than seven months since the four children of Alison Azer, formerly of St. Albert, were kidnapped by their father and taken to Kurdistan. They are in an area of escalating violence. With a spring offensive taking place as we speak, there is urgency for action, and I call on the government to use diplomatic and all means necessary,” said Cooper.
He also encouraged all parliamentarians to join Azer for a candlelight vigil in front of the centennial flame.
“I was honoured that Michael Cooper took an interest. He is not Alison’s MP. He’s ours and I thought if others take an interest the way he did, it will be a happy Mother’s Day for Alison,” Zawaduk said.
Prime Minister Trudeau pledged to do everything possible to return the Azer children.
“They say it’s going to be a top priority, but what does that really mean,” Zawaduk asked, mirroring public frustration.
Elmer Gish School is at 75 Akins Dr.
