CAF Story | Honoured Honourary – Paul Hindo of the Canadian Army
Video / November 24, 2020
Transcript
The plane came in very hot to land. By the time I was saying: “What is the rush?” And they pointed behind us and you see some dark smoke and I said: “What is that?” And my escort officer said: “Sir, that's where ISIS is.”
My name is Paul Hindo and I am the Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Army.
I grew up in Bagdad, Iraq, until I was 14 years old. Bagdad itself was a great city. It was a beautiful city. It was full of historic buildings and modern architecture. There was a very thriving middle class. My childhood was very, very, very happy actually. In 1972, we came to Canada on a visit and while we were here, there was a soft coup d'état, if you will, in Iraq, and my parents at the time decided that it is best for us to stay in Canada.
And my first year in cégep, I was looking for a summer job. There was an ad saying: “You want to be a guardsman for the summer?” Next thing I knew, I was in this armoury and was left in: “Left, right, left, right, left, right!” My mother said: “How did you job interview go?” I said: “Mom, I think I joined the Canadian military.” And she was: “What?”
When my employer, Royal LePage Commercial, moved me to Ottawa, I kind of retired from the military as a captain. Then, in 2009, I was appointed as Honorary Colonel of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. After which, I was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Army. So I had the privileges of visiting some interesting countries, but when it came to visit Iraq, of course, I jumped on it right away.
Many people in fact advised me not to go back. Because all I had is this image of this beautiful city, you know, all my friends, beautiful neighbourhood. It was a country in ruins. It is heartbreaking. You wonder: “How did we allow to get this bad?” The flight into Bagdad, that was quite poignant for me. I'm saying: “Oh yes, I remember that. That's the church where I had my first communion.” All said and all these... My dad. I was saying: “Oh, my dad, I hope he's looking down on us.”
There, it was wonderful to see the Canadian men and women in action, training the Iraqis to be self-sufficient, to be able to defend themselves, to be able to take ownership of the country again. And the interesting thing is when you meet the Iraqis and they see a Canadian, and then speaking their language but their dialect. Oh! Their eyes just open up. It was quite an emotional experience for me.
We live in the best country. Our biggest challenge here is we're so isolated. Sometimes, we have it too good here. Sometime, we don't appreciate our men and women in uniform as much as we should. And I can tell you, they allow Canada to punch way above its weight. You may not feel it now, but in 10, 15, 20 years from now, you can look back with pride and say: “I was part of that mission that rebuilt the whole country.”