DEBORAH KERR'S CHILDREN DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR MOM'S FATE DECIDED

Meanwhile, She Rots Away In A Pakistani Jail

BELLEVILLE -- A Sunday school teacher sitting in a Pakistani jail for
more than a year is either a drug mule or a patsy.

It is not perfectly clear to anybody which -- even to members of
Deborah Kerr's own family. Clarity is what her loved ones, including
her three children, are looking for. They want an honest report of
what is really going on here.

One thing that is clear is you could not possibly write a fiction
script as weird as the life currently being lived by this 36-year-old
Belleville woman.

It's a complicated, if not twisted drama involving strange romances,
double lives, alleged police impersonation, a suspected marriage of
convenience, allegations of heroin smuggling and a Canadian woman in
a Pakistani prison facing a potential death sentence.

But most of all, it's a story about two small children and one
teenager who are wondering when their mom is going to come home!

For 14 months, Kerr has been in the 3,000 inmate Adiala Jail in
Rawalpindi on suspicion of a conspiracy to traffic more than 6 kilos
of heroin.

Her family has not spoken with her since January and is not sure if
she is even alive -- although Liberal MP Dan McTeague said last night
a full report from Canada's foreign affairs department may come down
as early as today.

Also, her local MP Rick Norlock's office contacted her yesterday and
said Mississauga MP Wajid Kahn may have visited her in prison. Kahn
did not return a call to the Sun.

Meanwhile her children Sara, 4, and Jacob, 3, "lie awake at night
crying for their mom," said Kerr's sister Sheri Gonyea, 39. "Every
time they see an airplane in the sky, they wonder if she is on it and
will say 'I hope it runs out of gas so she can come home.' "

The oldest child, Chantelle, is 14 and living in the Toronto area
with her father, who is not involved in this saga. It's because of
those three children I do this column today.

I met the younger kids yesterday and you can see them for yourself at
torontosun.com waving hello to their mom.

No matter what transpired over there in Pakistan, these kids are
innocent. And until there is a fair trial where all evidence is
aired, in our country's system so is their mom.

But Kerr is not in Canada. Pakistan has different rules. And in this
year of political strife in the country, with judges and lawyers
protesting in the street, suspended or on strike, it's not difficult
to see how this single case could get lost in the shuffle.

As I did with Mexico in the Brenda Martin case, the only thing I ask
Pakistan to do is give her a hearing. Sitting for years without a
proper charge is just not right!

Make sure those prosecuting this case provide their evidence in an
open setting. If she's guilty, she's guilty. But what if she isn't?

"She was raised Pentecostal and taught Sunday school and has never
been involved with drugs before," said Sheri. "And she is a good mom."

However, her sister admits she is also not the same woman since being
involved with Saleem Khan, the father of her two younger children.

"This guy changed who she is," she said. "She has self-esteem
problems and is gullible."

The subplot to this tale is Khan, 67, who is said to have had several
relationships with women here in Canada and once drove a taxi cab in
Cobourg.

He is also believed to have been detained, has also not had a hearing
where he could express his innocence. Although no longer romantically
involved with Kerr, he was the host of this trip to his homeland of
Pakistan. Although always cordial to her, Sheri said she did find it
curious when "he told us he was working undercover for the RCMP in
Pakistan."

She also thought it was mixed up that her sister was going over there
on the premise that she was to marry Khan's son Ali, 45.

She said Saleem also "offered for my sister to help him with his RCMP
duties and to help import carpets from Pakistan to Canada."

It is not known if the wedding did occur but it is known she was at
the Islamabad airport on Jan. 28, 2007, when her life changed.

"Over the phone she told me she was in the boarding lounge when a
stranger placed a bag beside her," said Sheri. "I don't know whether
she touched the bag or not but within seconds the drug enforcement
people jumped her and threw her to the ground. What I don't
understand is if there were drugs in that bag is how that bag got
through security? Deborah told me she had nothing to do with it."

Kerr was later told the bag contained heroin and she has been in
prison ever since -- although never charged.

"There is no toilet in the prison, no place to wash," said Sheri. "I
have checked out Pakistani law and it says a woman has to be charged
within six months of a crime or be released."

What is needed is for Pakistan to charge Kerr for these crimes and
then prove them in court.

It seems to be the only way to determine once and for all if Deborah
Kerr is guilty of trying to traffic hundreds of thousands of dollars
of narcotics or is merely a stooge in someone else's bigger game!