[R-G] London again gives refuge to resister from war in Iraq

[Anthony Fenton]

Copyright 2007 Sun Media Corporation
All Rights Reserved
London Free Press (Ontario)

September 29, 2007 Saturday
FINAL EDITION

SECTION: CITY & REGION; Pg. B9

LENGTH: 443 words

HEADLINE: London again gives refuge to resister from war in Iraq

BYLINE: BY PATRICK MALONEY, SUN MEDIA

BODY:


A 20-year-old American soldier seeking to avoid the Iraq war has  
arrived in London and he hasn't come alone.

James Stepp grew disenchanted with the American army during his  
training.

This month, he packed his wife, her two kids and their cat into a  
rusty pickup and drove from near Dayton, Ohio, to Canada, seeking  
refugee status.

In the frantic hours before the drive began, Stepp punched the words  
AWOL and Canada into Google and found a growing support network for  
war resisters that led them to London.

"We miss our friends and we miss our family very much," said Stepp,  
sitting with wife, Vicki, and her children, Cheyenne and Tilford, in  
a London home last night. "But it's just something that had to be done."

In June, Stepp said he signed up for a non-combat role driving trucks  
in Iraq, but after signing a contract was reassigned to the infantry.

He was soon being trained for confrontation, kicking in doors and  
making arrests.

Efforts to leave the army legally were unsuccessful, so on Sept. 10,  
Vicki wired him $200.

He left his training base in Oklahoma without permission and took a  
bus to Ohio. His drill sergeant soon started calling and Canada more  
and more became a possibility.

Vicki, 34, says letters from Oklahoma "sugarcoated" the reality of  
what Stepp was facing. When she learned the truth, pulling up stakes  
with the man she met about one year ago was the only option.

"It's scary, but it's easier than doing something wrong," she says,  
referring to the war.

The family is staying with Beth Guthrie, local leader of the national  
War Resisters Support Campaign. Cheyenne, 11, and her brother  
Tilford, 9, look forward to soon enrolling in school here.

Stepp and his wife have started the process of applying for refugee  
protection. They are hopeful, despite the fact no American soldier  
fleeing the Iraq war has successfully applied for such status.

Guthrie, who is happy providing a temporary home for the family, is  
asking Londoners to help them find an affordable home while they wait  
for work permits.

"These are really special people," she says

Anyone interesting in donating to support the family can e-mail  
londonresisters at yahoo.ca

More than anything, however, Stepp says he hopes Londoners offer him  
understanding for resisting a war he considers immoral.

"The culture in America is you're either with us or against us.  
Especially in the military," he said. "I just ask people to  
understand why I did it.

"I would rather be an outcast in my own country than commit war  
crimes and live in comfort knowing I had done that."

In the past, the local anti-war group has helped U.S. soldiers Tim  
Richard, Matt Lowell and Linjamin Mull settle in the city.

GRAPHIC: photo by Mike Hensen, Sun Media SEEKS SHELTER: James Stepp,  
a 20-year-old from Ohio who has deserted from the U.S. army, is  
living in London with his wife Vicki and her two children. The family  
is hoping to be granted refugee status.