Millions of Canadians across our
country celebrated Canada Day on Monday. For most of us it was an annual
holiday, full of fun, food, parties and music.
But few of us can match the joy and
gratefulness displayed in a modest home somewhere in the Greater Toronto Area
by a teenage girl, who has yet to become a Canadian.
 |
| Rimsha Masih |
At the stroke of the midnight hour
as the date changed to July 1, this teenage girl stood up, said a prayer along
with 15 of her family and friends, then cut a cake celebrating her first ever
Canada Day.
This is no ordinary child, she is
15-year-old Rimsha Masih, the Pakistani-Christian girl who was accused of
burning pages of the Qur’an and jailed, facing the death penalty under the
country’s infamous blasphemy laws.
On August 16 last year, as she did
every other day, Rimsha was collecting discarded paper from garbage in a slum
near Islamabad, when a Muslim neighbour stopped her, claiming there were burned
pages of an Islamic textbook in her plastic bag, and that this amounted to an
“insult to Islam.” Shortly after the accusation, a Muslim mob went to Rimsha’s
home and beat her up before police took the girl into custody, charging her
with blasphemy.
Islamists in Pakistan wanted to burn
the girl alive. The lawyer for the man who accused the girl of blasphemy told
reporters that the girl was “guilty.” Then he warned: “If the state overrides
the court, then God will get a person to do the job,” reminding everyone of the
murder of two Pakistani politicians who had sought the release of another
Christian woman rotting in prison on similar charges.
Rimsha’s case triggered outrage
across the globe. France “urged the Pakistani authorities to release this young
girl.” In the U.S., New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez and five of his
colleagues blasted the blasphemy law of Pakistan, demanding Rimsha be set free.
But the real work to save this child
of God was done by us — Canadians. In our own discrete manner, Ottawa exercised
quiet diplomacy with Islamabad, where thanks to President Zardari and also
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury, Rimsha was freed from prison and allowed to
leave to live in the shadows of our majestic mountains, wade in the waters of
our countless lakes and breathe freedom, the elixir of civilized people.
Here in Canada, it is the Canadian
group International Christian Voice (ICV) headed by Peter Bhatti (brother of
assassinated Pakistani politician Shahbaz Bhatti) that is assisting the girl
and her family to integrate in our society.
On Sunday, Bhatti took the family to
a Catholic Church where Rimsha and her sister went up to the altar and sang
Psalm 139 in their mother tongue Punjabi.
The promise of a new life in our
great country is what you have to look forward to, Rimsha. As long as you live,
you will never again have to face the bloodhounds of Islamism who chased you
away. This is Canada’s commitment to you for blessing us with your presence.
For all our flaws, you will soon discover why “the true North strong and free”
is for the third year in a row judged as the country with the best reputation.
Considering how Pakistan treated you, it is little wonder they were ranked near
the bottom.
In your Punjabi, let me welcome you
to Canada: “Ji ayan nun.”
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