Canadian Army vet on fighting ISIS in Iraq
When many of us first heard the news about ISIS atrocities, we called for someone to take action. But Dillion Hillier went one step further and decided to take action himself.
In 2014, the Canadian army veteran travelled to Iraq to volunteer with Peshmerga troops fighting ISIS on the front lines.
He had been living as a civilian when he was moved to act by images of ISIS atrocities.
"I was watching on CNN this band of thugs storm out of Syria into Iraq killing, raping, beheading people, enslaving Yazidi women, boiling people in pots of acid," he said in an interview with The Current's Piya Chattopadhyay. "I started to get the idea that maybe my skills that I learned in the Canadian military would be an asset to the Kurds."
So off he went. He didn't tell his parents what he was doing until he was already at the airport.
"I sent them an email five minutes before I boarded my plane," he said. when he landed for a stopover in London, he turned his phone on and "it was blowing up. And you know, I feel really bad for what I put my parents through, especially my mom."
But ultimately, he feels he did the right thing.
I essentially participated in stopping ISIS attacks on villages, allowing people to stay in their homes. So I feel good about what I did.
Listen to the full story at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's John Chipman