Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission: Canada and the Foreign Volunteers.

Canada is one of those countries I adore. It’s like Australia but with snow and a bit of a British colonial mixed with French flair. The people are laid back and friendly, the country is beautiful and welcoming. The Canadians also tend to have fairly progressive views on things and despite being a neighbour of the United States don't jump at their every command. They have a certain sense of identity and can shine their own light, even in the shadow of the world super power. Canada may not officially endorse the volunteers who go to fight Daesh but they don't treat them like criminals either. Hanna Bohman was allowed back in the country twice wearing the uniform of the YPJ and given a friendly welcome home. John Gallagher who was tragically killed last November while in action against Daesh, was given the same honours of a fallen national hero by the people of his home town in Ontario who lined the streets to welcome him home. Other Canadians returning have been given a cursory interview, a pat on the back and "well done, off you go". The reality is very different in Australia. Our Government views these men and women who have served in the YPG as being no different to Daesh in the eyes of the law. Our returned volunteers are monitored and every day without a "knock at the door" is another day of reprieve. Every Australian who has attempted to join or has joined the Kurdish YPG and Peshmerga is viewed as a "Security Risk" and as a result have restrictions imposed on them such as travel, employment in Government and Defence roles and may be prosecuted at any time. Renas Lelikan the Kurd-Australian who spent time as an embedded Journalist with the PKK currently languishes in prison as a political prisoner awaiting his fate as the Government builds to potentially impose a 10 years sentence on him for the crime of being Kurdish. The Government is not wholly at fault either. The opposition under Bill Shorten is just as obtuse as is the Turnbull Government. Last year Matthew Gardiner was removed from the Labor Party after spending time in Rojava. The Australian Labor Party is strong in its views on some issues but when it comes to Turkey's atrocities in the countries civil war it is unusually silent. So too are all the progressives in the left side of the party. They don't want to have to deal with the issues in the "too hard basket" so they choose to look the other way. Grow some vitals and a conscience on both sides of the house and exempt the YPG under the Foreign Fighters legislation, recognize the autonomous government in Rojava as legitimate and give amnesty to the Australians who have served or are serving in the YPG and Peshmerga. Review the listing of the PKK as a proscribed terror group in an objective manner based on what constitutes a terrorist group as opposed to what a Foreign Government wants us to do in order to continue unrestricted access to war shrines in Turkey. Do it because it’s the right thing to do. Get Real.