Record COMOX VALLEY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015
VOLUME 30 | NO. 97
THE
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44 ■ Thursday, December 3, 2015 ■ COMOXVALLEYRECORD.com
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Coffee with ... Erik Eriksson
■ P9
NEWS Helping in Honduras
Mark Isfeld Interact Club is trying to raise $10,000 by Christmas to assist a school in Honduras. The money will be used to replace a mouldy, leaking roof on a school in the village of San Nicolas. ■ P3
Hats for cold heads
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Alison Azer looks at photos of her children (from left) Rojevahn, Sharvahn, Dersim and Meitan.
Missing Azer children located ■ Erin Haluschak erin.haluschak @comoxvalleyrecord.com
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Four Comox Valley children who were allegedly abducted by their father this summer have now been located in the Middle East, according to members close to the family. In August, Alison Azer received word her ex-husband - Dr. Saren Azer (also known as Salahaddin Mahummudi-Azer) - hadn’t returned to Canada from a court-approved trip to Europe with her children Sharvahn, 11, Rojevahn, 9, Dersim, 7 and Meitan, 3. Comox Valley RCMP sought and obtained a Canada Wide Warrant of Arrest for Azer – who practised at St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Comox – in relation to charges of Abduction in Contravention of a Custody Order, contrary to Section 282 of the Criminal Code of Canada. INTERPOL also lists the children as
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PHOTO BY ERIN HALUSCHAK
Father allegedly refusing to release children missing on its website. Family spokesperson Jody Korchinski confirmed in an email to The Record Alison does now know the location of her children. “Alison is tremendously grateful for all the support she has received and the interest people have taken in her story,” she said. “Government (Canadian and Kurdistan Regional Government) efforts are now underway to recover the children, but Saren is refusing to release them. Alison is now counting on the Canadian government to support her.” Korchinski credits social media efforts and news stories for helping determine the location of the children. Prior to locating the children, Alison noted online that Canadian and Kurdish authorities are aware that Saren and the children landed at the Sulaymaniyah airport in Northern Iraq on Aug. 15. EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE 30 days/2500 km*
RCMP confirmed the children were legally permitted to leave Canada with Saren, but the warrant was obtained when he and the children did not return to B.C. by Aug. 22. In correspondence with The Record, a representative of INTERPOL noted the organization does not conduct investigations itself, as they are always done by the law enforcement authorities of the country or countries involved. Their role is to provide support and enable co-operation between its 190 member countries. Saren, an Iranian Kurd who has lived in Canada since 1994, has worked for humanitarian efforts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to provide medical attention to Syrian refugees since 2007. For more information, visit findazerkidsnow.com Editor’s note: Alison and her children had still not been reunited by the time The Record went to print. We will continue to update this story as it develops at comoxvalleyrecord.com INSPECTION
150+ points coverage
A community group named Comox Valley Community Hats has been formed to create hats for anyone who may need one in cold weather. The hats, along with a note, are attached to trees in various outdoor spaces in the area for anyone to take at any time. ■ P14
ARTS
Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular
The popular annual event turns nine this year, and features more music and dancing than ever before. ■ P29
Clarinet in the morning
Clarinet player François Houle joins pianist Sarah Hagen for the next instalment of Mattina Musica at the Sid Williams Theatre, Monday, Dec. 7. ■ P30
SPORTS
Going to sailing extremes
Team Wyred is set to compete in one of sailing’s most extreme competitions in the spring of 2016: The Red Bull Foiling Generation. ■ P33
FEATURES
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