SLOBODIAN: Taliban releases Canadian hero Dave Lavery

“They’ll make a movie about Dave one day,” Gavin Dew, chair of the Veteran’s Transition Network (VTN), posted on X Sunday.It would be a nailbiter, a story of incredible heroism driven by compassionate duty to help his fellow man, one that should make Canadians burst with pride. And despite huge odds, one with a happy ending.After 10 weeks in captivity, Canadian hero Dave Lavery was released by the Taliban who had kidnapped him at Kabul airport November 11.Lavery’s welfare in the hands of the Taliban, known for neanderthal brutality, weighed heavily on many relieved hearts.He is now finally safe in Qatar..SLOBODIAN: Ottawa — spare no effort for Lavery's release!.The retired founding member of the JTF2 elite counterterrorism unit and 20-year Canadian Armed Forces veteran, is responsible for saving thousands of lives of Canadian Afghan allies and those of people from other countries, including 300 Germans, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.At great personal risk, he secured private evacuations and got people on the Taliban’s radar into safe houses then inside the airport. He did so through his private humanitarian and security company Raven Rae Consulting Services, started in 1993, and set up in Afghanistan in 2011.He worked beyond exhaustion (with the help for a time of his wife Jinping Zhang-Lavery and son Brant, also heroes) throughout the terrified chaos that ensued at Hamid Karzai International Airport for six days with “no contact from Canadian officials.” Utter chaos ensued when former president Joe Biden ordered the abrupt US withdrawal. The NATO-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government crumbled when the Taliban approached Kabul.The disgraced ambassador to Afghanistan Reid Sirrs and his staff had fled on a half-empty military aircraft because it was “far too dangerous.” With the embassy closed, no could get special immigration visas, no paperwork could be filed to get out of the country.Physically and emotionally spent, on August 26, Lavery and Jinping boarded the final German evacuation flight. They had already sent Brant to safety.They saw plumes of smoke at the airport as the plane lifted off. They didn’t know until later when they landed that an Islamic State Khorasan suicide bomber killed 13 Americans, 169 Afghan civilian and gravely injured many more.After that, according to the VTN, Lavery continued to “multiple trips” to Afghanistan on behalf of the Canadian government and the VTN to “support safe passage of vetted” Afghan allies. He moved Raven Rae’s headquarters to Dubai in 2021.Last Remembrance Day, when he was kidnapped by the Taliban, Lavery had flown into Kabul on one of those trips and to lay a wreath at Afghanistan’s Canadian Memorial at the Sherpur Cantonment in the city.Lavery abided Taliban authority, took great pains not to do anything illegal and used proper documentation. Even so, he knew there were risks, but it didn’t deter him. Why?“He loved the country, he loved the people …” explained Retired Maj.-General Dean Milner, who served in Afghanistan and was one of three generals when headed the Afghan Strategic Evacuation Team (ASET) formed to evacuate translators and others who helped the CAF in the war-ravaged country.Upon news of his capture by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, the mission was on to free him.“Today, after 10 weeks of formal and informal diplomacy, he was released,” wrote Dew, Conservative BC MLA representing Kelowna-Mission.“Heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped save Canadian Dave. He deserves a hero’s welcome.”What Lavery endured in the hands of the Taliban, Afghanistan is notorious for harsh prisons, isn’t known.However, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, posted on social media that she “just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits.”Lavery was the “go-to” guy on the ground for a small army of Canadians who also worked diligently at home, to the point of exhaustion, to secure the safety of Afghan allies who supported Canadian troops there under the NATO banner.“The last 10 weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions for everyone involved, especially as we have had to navigate an incredibly complex situation while avoiding publicity,” said VTN Afghan Support director Tim Laidler in a statement.“We are incredibly thankful to everyone who helped formally and informally to bring home Canadian Dave — especially the government of Qatar and our friends in Doha.”CEO Oliver Thorne said the VTN was “immensely relieved” when Lavery was released.“Our work over the past three years to evacuate Afghan allies who supported Canada’s mission would not have been possible without Dave’s personal commitment and bravery.”Lavery began working with the VTN in 2021 when, along with Canadian veterans, it recognized the danger Afghan allies faced from the Taliban in light of the pending withdrawal of US forces.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had ignored warnings and pleas from military veterans to start evacuating Afghan Canadians and Afghans who assisted the Canadian mission.A fund-raising campaign by the VTN was launched. From July 2021 to March 2023 public donations totalling $4.7 million provide safe houses, food, transportation, and other services for Afghans.Despite lobbying and pleas for help Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada didn’t step up with funding until March 2023.“Dave Lavery is a Canadian hero,” said Dew in a statement.“The VTN team is proud to be part of Canadian Dave’s incredible life story, which reflects the selflessness and sacrifice of those who serve with our flag on their shoulder.”Details of negotiations to secure Lavery’s release — and who exactly was behind the successful negotiations — have not been released.“Canadians need to know what Dave Lavery did in their name — and the story of who helped save Canadian Dave,” said Dew.In the meantime, media has been asked to give Lavery — and his family — time to recuperate from the harrowing ordeal.