Maher Arar, a man holding joint Canadian-Syrian citizen- ship, was detained while changing planes at New York's JFK Airport and deported to Syria. Canada protested the deportation, wondering why the U.S. would spend money on a ticket to Damascus when they could have just bused him to Montreal. Shortly thereafter, Canada issued an official advisory warning its citizens against travelling to the United States, especially if they are of Syrian, Iranian, Iraqi, Libyan, Sudanese, Pakistani, Saudi Arabian or Yemeni ancestry. All citizens of those nations are currently being photographed, fingerprinted and monitored, even if they have tickets for "Phantom" and a DisneyWorld getaway package.
March 26, 2003 5:19 AM
