After 9/11, Canada sent 40,000 troops to Afghanistan. One of those was Tamar Freeman. She spent 25 years in the military, including a deployment in 2006 to the Central Asian country, where she treated Canadian troops and Afghan women and children who suffered burns and abuse.
When she arrived, insurgents were setting off roadside bombs; while Taliban rockets were routinely killing Western soliders. She lost friends and colleagues in the half-year she spent there, and endured strange looks from Afghan nationals who were surprised to see a short, blonde-haired female soldier—and they didn’t even know she was Jewish.
Coming up, to help mark Remembrance Day, Freeman joins The CJN Daily podcast to recall her experiences as a Jewish soldier in Canada’s last war, how she marked the Jewish holidays in Afghanistan and why watching the Taliban retake the country has been so sad and frustrating.
Listen and subscribe above.
What we talked about:
- Listen to “Shalom chaverim” played on Parliament Hill Nov. 11, beginning 11:45 a.m. EST, at ourcommons.ca
- Learn about the film featuring Tamar Freeman, Sisters in Arms, at sistersinarms.ca
Credits
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.
