The rest… all the letters are sent now.
54.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Since Canada is a democracy, you can’t make all decisions completely on your own. If you’d like, please send me the names of other members of the government who I should write to and ask them to support Syrian refugees as well.
Thank you,
Shannon
55.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Today someone set off some bombs in Paris and killed at least 118 people. As I write this, the identity of the bombers is still unknown. However, in the comments sections of articles, people are already blaming ISIS. I don’t know, maybe it was them. Terrorist attacks are intended to cause infighting and disorganization, making their targets ineffective because they can’t agree on what to do.
A strong leader can help, though, by pointing the way firmly toward peace and unity, instead of focussing the nation on retaliation.
I hope the French leaders do that, and I hope you don’t take this as a reason to close Canada to refugees.
Thanks,
Shannon
56.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It’s possible that some of my letters to you show some naiveté when it comes to politics and international economics. There is a lot to learn, and though I try my best to read and get up to speed, I doubt that I’ll ever know everything I need to make good decisions.
I admit that I failed Macroeconomics 100. I think it’s pretty stupid to plot national and international trends on graphs that only chart two factors. I switched majors to Computer Science and did a lot better there.
You have, I hope, all the information you need to make good choices, if you don’t give in to fear and confusion. Let refugees come to Canada. I’m pretty sure it’s a good choice.
Thank you,
Shannon
57.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
My great-grandparents were immigrants. They came from Ireland, Scotland and England. I’m white as the driven snow, so no one’s ever given me any trouble about it. Still, it goes to show that immigration often works well. People who WANT to be here are likely to be good citizens. Let’s get some Syrian immigrants asap.
Love,
Shannon
58.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Come to think of it, your grandparents were immigrants as well. I’ve just spent the last couple minutes checking wikipedia to see how many generations ago your family immigrated, but the articles about you and your father are pretty focussed. Never mind. We all came from somewhere else. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Thanks,
Shannon
59.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It’s November 13th as I’m writing this. A pretty unlucky Friday. The body count in France is up to 120, the French military has been mobilized and the borders are shut down. A refugee camp somewhere is on fire. Anonymous people on the internet are saying the usual hateful things that they always say, but the sane people in the world realize that the bombers who did this (maybe – we still don’t know for sure it was ISIS) are the people that refugees are trying to get away from.
There’s an opportunity here for the French to band together with the refugees and build a stronger nation, forged through a common enemy. I hope they do it. I hope we do it too. 3,000 refugees are in Canada already and are safe from today’s bombings. Let’s rescue more.
Thank you,
Shannon
60.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I’m still reading about the bombings in France. It’s so far away and so far beyond my control, I don’t even know why I’m doing it. All that happens when I read the news is I get stressed out about things I can’t affect. Someday I want to be in a position where I can do something, though. I want to go back to school, learn a language, get a degree, and serve our country. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. Maybe I don’t need the degree. Maybe I can get somewhere with what I’m doing now.
Mr Trudeau, please make sure Canada is a force for peace, and not perpetuators of war. Please let us be a sanctuary for refugees and let our role be one of de-escalation.
Thank you,
Shannon
61.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It seems like suicide bombers ought to be a self-defeating problem, don’t you think? So how is it that ISIS never seems to run out of them?
Reason, of course, is because the really bad guys don’t sign up for suicide attacks. They are old men hiding in caves cackling to themselves. They are safe in the mountains and they’re not coming out. They seduce gullible and vulnerable young people, and get them to do the dirty work.
I can understand being that vulnerable, too. The war in Iraq started when I was 12. It was my first week of middle school. I was totally army-mad. I signed up for Air Cadets and promised myself that I would join the military and go to Iraq as soon as I was old enough, if they managed to keep the war going that long.
They did keep it going that long. It’s been 14 years and the same stupid war keeps going on, spreading around to different areas and morphing into different shapes sometimes, but it’s still basically the same war. They’re not doing very well. The biggest superpower in the world versus some hillbilly thugs. Why haven’t they finished yet?
It’s lasted long enough for me to grow up and get educated and now I know better. I will not be signing up to fight in any angry old man’s war. I have a future here in Canada. A good job, lots of friends, enough money, a nice place to live. If the young men and women of ISIS could see a bright future like mine for their families, they’d think twice about throwing it all away for a single attack. If we make room for them in Canada, we can give them that bright future. The angry old men will have to come out and fight their own fights, or, more likely, give up.
Love, Shannon
62.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Mr Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Canadians are natural born helpers. Let’s help some Syrians.
Thanks,
Shannon
63.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I used to have a friend who got really cheap cars all the time. People would just give him cars. Sometimes for a hundred dollars, sometimes for free. Whenever he need one, it would turn up. He said that he did this by asking nicely. Whenever he saw a car that he liked, he would just ask for it, and every once in a while someone would say yes. He’d drive it around a bit, fix it up a little, then sell it on. From him, I learned to ask nicely for things. When you want something to happen, just ask. You don’t even have to ask someone who has the power to give you what you want. Just ask anyone you see for everything you want. Be enthusiastic, be fun, share your joy and let them be part of it. And you’ll get whatever you ask for.
So I’m asking you nicely, a whole bunch of times. Maybe you’re not the exact person who can do what I’m asking, but I bet you know the person who can. Please raise the Syrian refugee quota. To like, a million.
Thank you,
Shannon
64.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Admitting more refugees is a good idea and the right thing to do. Please do it.
Thank you,
Shannon
65.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I am emailing several smart people that I know to ask them if they can give me any more ideas for things to say to you. I know you don’t need any more good reasons to admit refugees. You’ve already said that 25,000 can come. But you have to speed up the entry process too, and 25,000 isn’t enough, and there is going to be economic fallout to deal with. I’m trying to send as many good ideas as I can come up with.
Thanks,
Shannon
66.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I read this excellent comment on Reddit that explains why so many Muslims are deciding to be terrorists these days. I look for explanations like this so that I can remember that everyone’s reasons for doing bad things make sense to them. If you attack the person, you’ll give them a real reason for doing the bad thing. If you attack the root cause, you have a chance of ending the problem.
- Death Of Muslims: Muslims have been witnessing the continual slaughter of their brothers and sisters by opposing forces in their lands. Instead of such incidents abating with time, every few days a new headline in some newspaper conveys the death of more anonymous Muslim civilians. This can encourage Muslims to sometimes make quick and irrational decisions, often times leading to innocent civilians being killed on the other side. “We can’t just sit and watch our brothers and sisters get butchered while we sit comfortably behind our computer screens. We have to do something”.
- Attacks From The West: Some Muslims may see the Western world as their primary enemy because of their attacks, invasions, support of oppressive regimes and their killing of thousands of civilians in Muslim lands in the last century. From the invasion of Iraq to the military endeavors in Afghanistan, from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo, from Aafia Siddiqui to Ali al-Timimi, from the ‘War on Terror’ to the ‘Patriot Act’, it can become easier to convince an impressionable mind into accepting the West versus Islam paradigm (as if these two entities can be surgically and neatly delineated, separated and defined). It is not hard for some Muslims to feel strong resentment towards the West and this resentment can push some to go to the extreme in retaliation, consequently justifying taking the lives of civilians on the opposing side. “They killed our people, so we should be able to kill theirs” is the type of argument they use.
- With Us Or Against Us: Among extremist groups, you will see Muslims who have adopted a very simplistic, black/white view of the world. Either you are on their side (side of the Muslims) or on the side of the disbelievers (kuffar). When they come across Muslims who have condemned their group/actions, they will be quick to dismiss their arguments, saying that they are “aiding the kuffar”. They see their condemnation as them betraying their Muslim brothers and sisters who are suffering in other countries.
- Economic Frustration: Extreme frustration with the economic situation of many of those involved in such groups, coupled with a lack of hope in alleviating their dismal situation. Years of poverty, oppression, unemployment and greedy political leaders in the Muslim world can push many of the youth to take the matter into their own hands. For those with no hope, fanaticism and over-zealousness gives them some hope. When there is no alternative, extremism becomes normal.
- Lack Of Islamic Knowledge: A common feature among extremist fighters is that they are largely composed of young recruits that are relatively new to Islam or have a very superficial understanding of the faith. A quick read through of the Quran and exposure to the first Muslim group you encounter can easily lead you to think that this group is on the right Islamic path. The more Islamic knowledge you have, the more easier it is to recognize unIslamic groups & movements and to avoid making poor uneducated choices.
- Distrust: You can find Muslims who support these groups online talking about how we shouldn’t trust the mainstream media on the topic of Muslim terrorists, because of the previous lies these mainstream sources have told us. There are Muslims who honestly believe that the extremist group they support are in the right; that they are only defending themselves and not killing civilians unjustly. They will disregard any source that counters these claims despite how strong the evidence is against their group.
- Lack Of Unity: Religious leadership among Muslims is disunited today; every loud voice can potentially become a leader merely by shouting loud enough. Anyone can potentially take on the lead without understanding Islam and the contemporary world or start takfiri preaching further dividing the Muslims into more smaller segments with various levels of authorities to follow. Since there is no official Caliphate, you can find some smaller segments coming up with their own pseudo-Islamic state or their own pseudo-caliph. Lack of unity also makes it harder for Muslims to voice their condemnation against any particular extremist group because they can’t have an ‘official’ opinion on a matter.
- Misunderstanding Jihad: The concept of jihad is a legitimate concept if applied properly in Islam; and it can be a type of terrorism if misunderstood and misapplied. It is like a loaded weapon: it can be used for good and to defend, and it can also be misused for harming others. Many other faiths don’t have such a concept. Because Islam does, it can and will be misapplied.
- Silence of Muslim preachers on Jihad: Muslim preachers in the West are restricted from speaking about physical jihad or have classes where Muslims can learn the proper history of battles in Islamic history, the conditions for fighting, and war in the modern world. Because Muslim preachers are often quiet about this subject, young Muslims can be easily duped by extremist recruiters into accepting the alternative view and the permissibility of fighting with modern militant groups. Someone can easily show them some narrations (hadith) of the rewards of jihad while being completely unaware of the major contextual differences in our time and can convince them of the greater good in fighting. When the only voices that address issues of concern are the voices of radical militant jihadis they find on the internet, it is only natural that young and impressionable minds will gravitate to these voices.
- The Media: Terrorist groups are empowered by the media. The more attention they get, the more powerful their threats become and the more new recruits they can potentially secure. Violent groups, no matter how small in number, will always get more attention than peaceful groups. Hundreds of Muslims scholars can condemn terrorism, tens of thousands of Muslims can protest for peace, but the 1 Muslim who blows himself up or beheads a civilian, will be the person who receives more attention in this modern age, and more attention gives him a better chance for more people to join his cause.
- The Easy Path: It might be surprising to non-Muslims, but in many ways, it can actually be more simple and easier for a dedicated Muslim to join one of these groups and fight. It can be much tougher for a passionate Muslim to envision living in a secular land with trials, tribulations and possible persecution for the next 30+ years, all while watching their Muslim brothers and sisters die. And the false idea of blowing yourself up and going straight to paradise sounds very easy. Many passionate Muslims are eager to die for the sake of God, but how many are willing to live for the sake of God?
- Scholars Are Ignored: Muslims who are already supporting extremist groups will completely ignore Muslim Scholars who critique their groups. Calling them ” sellouts” or saying that they are “aiding the kuffar” because they’re condemning a Muslim group. “You can’t criticize those Muslims fighting! At least those Muslims are doing something while you are just living comfortably in your own home”. I have personally come across isis sympathizers who completely dismiss Muslim scholars when they are refuted by them. Extremists are emotional and impatient, and they won’t bother to take the time to read/listen to the entire message of Muslim scholars who often critique both sides and can explain to extremists about their flawed understanding.
Thank you for taking the time to read this longer letter.
Shannon
67.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Watching the news come out of Paris. It just gets worse and worse. Please let more refugees in. We actually need peace.
Thank you,
Shannon
68.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Someone on Reddit asked what we can, as North Americans, actually do to help prevent tragedies like the one in Paris. I suggested that they write to their representatives, as I’m doing. They asked what this has to do with preventing terrorism, and I replied with the following:
“It’s the thing that I’m working on. I was working on this before the Paris attacks, so it’s forefront in my mind. But I believe that reducing population pressure in the area and giving the disenfranchised youth a place to seek shelter and a potential future, will help strip away the power base of the crazy fanatics that are doing the bombing.
Remember, from the point of view of the people who are committing these atrocities, it looks like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. When you start finding out what the reasons are and starting to understand what’s going on with them, it makes a lot more sense. And it also becomes a lot more obvious what the solution is.
There’s no future for a lot of Middle Eastern youth. Just poverty and war stretching into the infinite future. If you show them a future, they might choose that instead of jihad.”
Thank you,
Shannon
70.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I’m writing to ask you to raise the quota for Syrian refugees allowed into Canada. Right now it’s 25,000, I’m hoping for 100,000. This is my 70th letter, and I’ve tried to come up with 70 good reasons. Still, there is only ever one reason, and it’s that when someone needs rescuing, you rescue them. It’s just what you do.
Thank you,
Shannon
71.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I don’t know that my hundred letters will have any effect at all on Canada’s response to the refugee crisis. I’m sure people in power have already made the choices they’re going to make, I’m unlikely to change anyone’s mind. If I could have a backup goal, it would be for other people besides you to read these letters and remember the lessons from kindergarten and Sunday school, about loving our neighbours and helping each other. Then at least I’ll get to live in a country with better people.
Thank you,
Shannon
72.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I saw this video of you doing a student debate in Montreal about the separatist referendum when you were in high school. It was pretty cute. I love seeing 18 year old kids riled up about stuff. At the end you said “There’s all this pressure, there’s pressure to smoke, pressure to do all sorts of stuff, and I’ve never been affected by peer pressure.” Glad to hear that, I hope it’s still true, because that really comes in handy. Don’t let peer pressure keep you from helping refugees.
Thank you,
Shannon
73.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
My friend Dan said, “Do not blame the wounded deer who ran into your yard for the wolves that followed it there.” He didn’t say he was talking about Syrian refugees but I’m pretty sure he was.
Thanks,
Shannon
74.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Mark Ruffalo, an actor, said “Don’t let this horrific act draw you into the loss of your humanity or tolerance. That is the intended outcome.” He is also talking about the Paris attacks. And Voltaire said “A witty saying proves nothing.” Which is also true, so take whatever you want out of that. But don’t let the terrorists win.
Love, Shannon
75.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It took a couple of days after the Paris attacks before I found out about the terrorist attacks in Beirut, the day before. No one mentioned it when it happened, but people started talking about it after Paris. Some are complaining that that it took terrorism in a “white” country before anyone mentioned terrorism in Muslim countries, which seems to happen every day. I don’t mind. People are talking. Better late than never. The best we can do is never good enough but it gets better every year. Admit refugees. Lots of them. Be excessively generous.
Thank you,
Shannon
76.
Heard this poem on the CBC. “Home”, by Warsan Shire. She’s a refugee from Somalia who ended up in Britain.
“you have to understand,
no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land.”
The rest of them poem is pretty incredible, too. Here’s a URL if you’d like to read it.
http://seekershub.org/blog/2015/09/home-warsan-shire/.
Thank you,
Shannon
77.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
This week, someone from Starbucks’s marketing department invented a story about some Christians who were so offended that the seasonal Starbucks cup wasn’t Christmassy enough, that they marched into Starbucks and ordered coffee, giving their names as “Merry Christmas” to the barista, to trick her in to writing it on the cup.
“Redcupgate” has continued for nearly a week now. People are talking about how oppressed Christians are in our country (not even slightly), and others are rightly dismissing the whole thing because it’s ridiculous. But either way they’re talking about it.
Meanwhile Syrians are oppressed with bombs and bullets.
Please let more Syrians become Canadian, so that Canadians can have something real to worry about.
Thank you,
Shannon
78.
Monsieur Trudeau,
Merci pour votre engagement admettre 25,000 réfugiés a venir au Canada. S’il vous plaît augment ce numéro à 100,000, et fais facile et rapide le processus d’immigration .
Merci,
Shannon
79.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It’s Sunday morning and there’s been a few more terrorist attacks since the ones in Paris. I remain faithful that humans are moving upward out of our violent habits and that these troubles are just the last few growing pains. Please let more Syrian refugees come to Canada.
Thank you,
Shannon
80.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Our Mayor, Lisa Helps, is going to be meeting up with you in Ottawa sometime soon. She wants to ask for help housing homeless people in Victoria. It’s a really big problem – federal funding for mental health care was cut off by the Harper government, and we’ve had more street people than usual washing up in Victoria.
We need that funding back, but lots of other things need funding too. We need better public transit, highway improvements, new hospitals, better social services in a bunch of areas. It’s got to be paid for somehow. New immigrants usually bring new money with them. It’s almost always beneficial to the host country. Let’s get some Syrians in here and put them to work – maybe they’ll put us to work too.
Thank you,
Shannon
82.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
The people causing war in Syria right now are crazy. Like straight up batshit crazy. They should have been locked up in mental institutions years ago, but instead someone gave them guns. That was a bad decision, and now millions of Syrians need to leave their homes. We should help correct this bad decision by giving the refugees some place to run to, and also by not giving crazy people guns anymore.
Thank you,
Shannon
83.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
My great-grandparents, on my father’s side, came to Canada from Ireland during the potato famine. I don’t think they were welcomed very well – I’ve read quite a few stories about how unpopular Irish refugees were during that time.
But my grandfather served in WW2, then became a successful pharmacist who owned a shop and employed dozens of people for years and years. My father was the manager of a government liquor store, and was responsible for making sure that no one in Campbell River was overserved at his store, for 20 years. My uncle Bob is an investment banker who makes money for his clients and his country every day. My brother is an electrician and I’m a computer programmer. We contribute every day, earn a living, and make this country better every chance we get. And I haven’t even mentioned my mom’s side of the family, which is even better.
Immigration worked out well for the Irish refugees, even though it was difficult at first, and it worked out very well for Canada. Let’s continue that excellent trend and get some more immigrants for Canada.
Thank you,
Shannon
84.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I’m hanging out tonight with my two roommates and our friend Brittany, playing Bananagram. Brittany’s parents are both immigrants – her mother was Scottish and her father was Jamaican. Not only would her father have died if he had stayed in Jamaica (due to political troubles there when he left), he never would have met Brittany’s mom, and she would not have been born. But she was, and she’s an awesome Canadian who improves every room she’s in with her kindness and her sense of humour. As you can tell, I’m strongly in favour of immigration and harbouring refugees.
Thank you,
Shannon
85.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Been looking at pictures of Syria. It’s such a beautiful country. I’m told that even if there wasn’t a war on, it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to visit, as it’s a dangerous country for women. But millions of women live there anyway. This war has got to end soon, so it’ll be safe for the women who live there as well as for people like me to visit. Bombing them to hell isn’t going to work – it hasn’t been working up til now, and it’s not going to work unless the whole country gets carpet bombed flat. We’ve got to de-escalate, and the way to do that is by relieving population pressure and getting people out. Make room for refugees in Canada, it will help.
Thank you, Shannon
86.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I understand that your family has not yet moved into the Prime Minister’s house in Ottawa because the place is in such a tragic state that it isn’t fit to live in. I’m pretty sure anyone leaving Syria in an overloaded lifeboat right now would be happy to take it, though. I hope you’ll make room not just in Canada, but in your own house, for refugees.
Thank you,
Shannon
87.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It’s been really hard for the City of Victoria to deal with homeless people here. Every time someone has a reasonable suggestion, everyone else chimes in with “Yeah, do that, but not in my backyard.” There are only so many places on Vancouver Island. All of them are someone’s backyard.
Send refugees to my backyard, please. I’ll help build houses for them. We’ll figure it out.
Thank you,
Shannon
88.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
It’s been a wild ride, only 11 letters left to go. I’ve repeated myself a few times, which is fine with me. I’ve also learned a lot about Syria, though probably still not enough. I hope you’ve enjoyed these letters, and that you’re inspired to some kind of action other than bombing.
Thank you,
Shannon
89.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I was born in 1989, the same year the Berlin wall came down. After decades of cold war, where everyone thought the world could end in a mushroom cloud at any moment, it all just… stopped. Peace broke out. I’m hoping for that kind of miracle in Syria. It’s ridiculous and naively optimistic, but so what? Miracles have happened before. Please admit more refugees.
Thank you,
Shannon
90.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Checking the text of some petitions. Here’s a good one:
Please make a clear commitment to rapidly scale up Syrian resettlement programme this year, accept a fair proportion of refugees who are already in Europe, and tackle the root causes of the refugee crisis through diplomacy and aid.
Thank you,
Shannon
91.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
“Men go crazy in congregations, they only get better one by one.” — Sting.
Let’s let refugees in, spread out the crazy, and let them get better, one by one.
Thank you,
Shannon
92.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Another good quote I found, “When one lives, nothing is too much trouble, and there is always time.” This is why we can take 100,000 refugees. They are no trouble, and we have plenty of time, if we can love them well enough. Abdu’l-Baha said that.
Thank you,
Shannon
93.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I made it through high school, got my heart thoroughly broken by a man, and wrote you a hundred letters. These are the toughest things I have dealt with in my life. Not much, but there times when I thought I wouldn’t make it. Nothing compared to what 4 millions Syrians are going through right now. They could really use some help. I got all the help I needed – they should get what they need as well.
Thank you,
Shannon
94.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
The worst part of this whole mess is that it shakes my conviction too. I really don’t want some brown people to come to my town and bomb it. I don’t want to get bombed. I really don’t. I’m afraid it might happen. Don’t let the terrorists win. They’re getting to me a little bit.
Thank you,
Shannon
95.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Found another great quote. “When a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.” — EW Howe. A dangerous idea, but definitely better than changing my Facebook profile to a French flag. What we can do for France is take some of their refugees off their hands. Same thing we can do for Syria. Let’s.
Thank you,
Shannon
96.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Canada seems to been mostly immune from the insane religiosity of some American leaders. I’m so thankful for that. Jeb Bush said some vile things about Muslims and then suggested that we should concentrate on helping Syrian Christians. Just in case you forget what God thinks about it, check out this passage from Leviticus.
“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” –Leviticus 19:33-34
Religion is not and never will be a good reason for excluding any refugee.
Thank you,
Shannon
97.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
I’m not much of a Christian myself. I only quote the bible when I’m telling self-professed Christians to act properly. I get my moral code as a composite of all the books I’ve read, people I’ve spoken to, and lessons from my parents that I’ve gathered in 26 years, each idea compared and averaged against the other points of view. I’ve tried to gather as many points of view as I could, and when I put them all together I feel like I can see some kind of sanity emerge. And that moral code that I’ve developed tells me pretty clearly, pretty black and white, that granting sanctuary to refugees is the right course of action.
Still, the Sermon on the Mount is just as good of a reason as any of the mumbo-jumbo I can come up with.
“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.”
and,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
and,
“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”
Thank you,
Shannon
98.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
You’ve gotten the Prime Ministership during a very interesting year. I am praying for you to have wisdom and strength to serve Canada with good decisions. We all want you to succeed. At least, I do.
Please raise the refugee quota.
Thank you,
Shannon
99.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
Once more, with feeling: Please, let 100,000 refugees come to Canada. And after that, maybe 100,000 more.
Thank you,
Shannon
Extra
Dear Mr. Trudeau,
It is hard to write 100 coherent letters on a single topic. The words start to blur together. I start to sympathize with the people who have nonsense written on posters and stand on street corners shouting at the passers-by.
If you believe something this strongly, why shouldn’t you shout it on the street corners? Why shouldn’t you tell everyone a hundred times?
But I probably won’t do this again. I will write to you in the future, but it will be one letter at a time. Still I ask you: raise the quota. Accept refugees. Make room.
Thank you,
Shannon Graham
100.
Dear Mr Trudeau,
This is the last letter. I won’t bother you about Syrian refugees again this year, I’m fully out of things to say. I won’t write again (unless you ask me to!) The first letter I wrote didn’t say what I wanted it to, and neither did the second. Somewhere in the late 60’s I felt like I had made my point, but I kept on going, just in case there was something else I could say that maybe you hadn’t considered.
I’ve learned about Syria, about Canada, and about which of my friends have their heads screwed on right and which ones seem to have lost their way. But I still haven’t seen a single Syrian refugee in real life. Get on it, Mr Prime Minister. The world is waiting for you.
Thank you,
Shannon
The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, PC, MP
Prime Minister Of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A2