"Be careful, Canada's a dangerous place"

I am sure many of you have heard about the recent “warning” issued by the foreign offices in Australia. For those of you who have not heard about it, it was in the news and papers on the 26th of January. Basically, Australia has declared travel reports for Canada that it is a dangerous place to come to. They are reminding everyone to be cautious before coming here by giving a heads up of what is happening in Canada. Taken directly from the article, it states that Canada is “A country of petty thieves, rabid animals, rapists with a gun problem and dangerous drivers who are under threat from terrorists, tornadoes, earthquakes, avalanches, forest fires and freak storms and with only spotty police enforcement to protect them.” Furthermore, some parts of Canada are in high risk of avalanches and earthquakes. Foreign affairs of Australia all of a sudden feel the need to protect the safety of its citizen’s and issuing this warning.
When I heard how serious Australia was about this warning I was really disappointed, as I’m sure many others are. I feel a strong attachment to our country, and so therefore this easily offended me, after all, this is our home they are putting down. It is really mind boggling as to how they suddenly drew all these conclusions and came out to warn the public about it, and I do not see how they could have possibly gotten this kind of information to release. I understand Canada has its fair share of issues, but to the extreme that they are talking about here? I don’t think so. What I really found upsetting was to read that it is a site for potential terrorist attacks. I have not heard any such kind of info. I feel by doing so the Australian foreign affairs are really putting down our home.
This feeling got me to think about what we were talking about in lecture, our associations with a place. As I was upset about this news I heard, when I told my dad about it he really didn’t seem to be bothered by it too much. And I think it is because he doesn’t completely consider Canada to be his country, or his home I could say, as he is an immigrant. I however, was born here and I feel like Canada is entirely my place and my home as I have lived here my whole life. I think it is right in saying that we all have various feelings attached to a place based on our varying experiences and associations. For me, that is my home and native land the Australians are putting down, while for someone like my dad who came here when he was 20 and did not express much resentment toward the comments made, I could only grasp that he does not hold equal feelings and associations to this place as I do. I believe if something in the news came about regarding his country, he would be funny in tuned and concerned. I just wanted to bring this up as I feel it was right in lecture when we discussed our feelings associated to home and place, and how a place can mean different things to different people .If anyone wants to see the article I was referring, the link is below. Maria

http://www.thestar.com/article/297667