Northern soldiers reflect on Afghanistan

A 22-year-old Afghan war veteran, who lost his best friend in the conflict, says Canadian soldiers are helping to make life better for the people of that country.

Yukoner Pte. Darrell Barker, who just returned from his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, says Canada has an obligation to help rebuild the war-torn country.

"Right now I'd say we should be there," Barker said during an interview Thursday.

Helping the country's women and children makes the sacrifices worthwhile, he said.

After growing up in the Yukon, Barker said he found the poverty of Afghanistan hard to take.

"You are never prepared for what you see over there," he said, noting that the experience has given him a whole new perspective on the Third World.

Corp. Doug Tizya, who also grew up in the Yukon, told CBC News from his base in Shilo, Man., he is relieved to be back in Canada where he can feel safe.

Tizya returned to Canada in the summer after he was injured in an ambush on his second tour of duty.

Although he's glad to be on home turf, he says he still thinks about the war and his fellow soldiers still serving there.

"It's 50-50 because my friends are still out there and I'm back here," Tizya said. "Those are guys I trained with, bonded with them, and I'm back here. I'm just not feeling adequate, I should still be out there."

Tizya plans to leave the military next summer and head off to university to become an elementary school teacher.

The mother of Yukoner Thomas Eschak, who is halfway through his first tour in Afghanistan, says her son is sincerely committed to making life better for the people of that country.

Eschak, who turned 23 in Afghanistan, told his mother, Marj, the people in the villages beg the Canadian soldiers not to leave them.