2022-03-04, 08:51 AM
Câu chuyện của một chí nguyện quân Gia Nã Đại
Under a foreign flag: Canadian veterans explain why they're fighting for Ukraine
![[Image: 2022-03-04-084932.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/wxw2FyDC/2022-03-04-084932.png)
In Afghanistan, he was nicknamed Wali.
And the name stuck for the former sniper with the Royal 22e Regiment, who — earlier this week, in the dead of night — crossed the border into Ukraine from Poland, answering a call from Ukraine's president for a foreign legion to help repel the Russian invasion.
The border was a surreal experience, even for a former Canadian soldier used to the unpredictability of war in the sun-scorched grape fields of Kandahar. Wali said he and the three other former Canadian soldiers who made the journey with him were greeted with hugs, handshakes, flags and photos by Ukrainians after they crossed the border.
"They were so happy to have us," said Wali (CBC News has agreed to identify him only by his nom de guerre to protect his family's safety). "It's like we were friends right away."
Wali wouldn't say exactly where he crossed the border. He said he was struck by the tide of refugees washing up in Poland.
There were buses everywhere, he said, and people bundled against the cold trudging on foot toward the checkpoint and safety. On his way deeper into Ukraine, he said he saw scattered bits of garbage and empty vehicles abandoned by their owners — who apparently hiked the final few kilometres over the frozen frontier.
'I want to help them'
The sight of people whose lives have been ripped apart by war touches everyone but it digs a little deeper for soldiers and veterans, who witness such scenes with more painful regularity.
"I want to help them. It's as simple as that," said Wali, who also did a stint as a foreign fighter with the Kurdish forces which battled Islamic State extremists in northern Iraq several years ago.
"I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian."
Under a foreign flag: Canadian veterans explain why they're fighting for Ukraine
In Afghanistan, he was nicknamed Wali.
And the name stuck for the former sniper with the Royal 22e Regiment, who — earlier this week, in the dead of night — crossed the border into Ukraine from Poland, answering a call from Ukraine's president for a foreign legion to help repel the Russian invasion.
The border was a surreal experience, even for a former Canadian soldier used to the unpredictability of war in the sun-scorched grape fields of Kandahar. Wali said he and the three other former Canadian soldiers who made the journey with him were greeted with hugs, handshakes, flags and photos by Ukrainians after they crossed the border.
"They were so happy to have us," said Wali (CBC News has agreed to identify him only by his nom de guerre to protect his family's safety). "It's like we were friends right away."
Wali wouldn't say exactly where he crossed the border. He said he was struck by the tide of refugees washing up in Poland.
There were buses everywhere, he said, and people bundled against the cold trudging on foot toward the checkpoint and safety. On his way deeper into Ukraine, he said he saw scattered bits of garbage and empty vehicles abandoned by their owners — who apparently hiked the final few kilometres over the frozen frontier.
'I want to help them'
The sight of people whose lives have been ripped apart by war touches everyone but it digs a little deeper for soldiers and veterans, who witness such scenes with more painful regularity.
"I want to help them. It's as simple as that," said Wali, who also did a stint as a foreign fighter with the Kurdish forces which battled Islamic State extremists in northern Iraq several years ago.
"I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian."