Submission from Mr David R McCann, Bermuda
I am a Bermudian citizen who believes that the
regiment draft is wrong. I returned to Bermuda after completing
by Associate and Bachelors degree in the US, and when I returned,
was drafted. How can I put all my effort into getting my career
properly of the ground if I have to give three years to the regiment??
I do believe it is a 21st Century form of slavery, as people who
I know have gone through with it have described the abuse. Officers
yelling, shouting and cursing, even threatening, and carrying
out acts of physical violence.
I have been deferred for medical reasons, I
suffer from diverticulitis, and have a bad back. This however
does not stop them from trying to draft me every year. I have
to go back to the doctor and get a new letter every year, and
go to the regiment for about five hours waiting in line to see
if they will accept my doctor's opinion. This is ludicrous! If
anything, conscription should be an option for criminals, who
instead of serving jail time could give their services to the
regiment as an alternate form of punishment. This would ease our
prison, and allow the regiment to get the numbers it wants. Why
hinder the process of educated citizens trying to move forward
with their lives?
5 September 2007
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