Cory Glass is a quiet young man of 25 who’s been working as a funeral director in Toronto but two years ago he was serving in Iraq. Glass says when he joined the National Guard in 2002 he was told he wouldn’t have to serve overseas and he was expecting to help people at home in disaster recovery. When he was on leave in the US he fled to Canada and says he couldn’t go back to Iraq. But now he can’t stay in Canada and authorities have rejected his application for refugee status. He seems resigned to his deportation. He could spend time in a US military prison. This analyst the US military is likely to charge Glass with desertion. The maximum penalty for desertion is death, but much more likely says the analyst is that Glass would spend a few months or even a few years in a military prison. Many of the other war deserters living in Canada fear they face a similar fate.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!