"LEMON-AID" HELPS CANADIAN

Efforts Raise Awareness Of Man Jailed Overseas

Lawyers and diplomats may not be able to help a Canadian man jailed
in Dubai on drug charges, but maybe one little girl with a lemonade
stand can make a difference.

Carmen Portillo has only met Bert Tatham once, but the 10-year-old
girl believes whole-heartedly in his innocence -- based on the word
of Tatham's fiancee, Sarah Gilmour.

"I really like Sarah. She was my mentor and one of my favourite
friends at school," said Carmen about the former George Jay
elementary school teacher. Students heard her tell the story of
Tatham's efforts in Afghanistan to eradicate poppies and about his
legal predicament overseas and were touched by his story.

Tatham was found with 0.6 grams of hashish and two poppy bulbs at a
stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emerites, on his way back to Canada.
He pleaded innocent, but was convicted of drug possession and
sentenced to four years in jail.

"Carmen was very upset on our walk home," said Carmen's mother,
Margaret Portillo. She noted that Carmen's petition plans "morphed
into a fundraising campaign for Afghan relief."

Carmen's North Park neighbourhood lemonade stand raises money for
UNICEF's Afghan relief mission and she's also collecting signatures
in support of Tatham.

"I'm going to keep working until I get 100 signatures and I raise
$100," says Carmen.

Portillo believes the Department of Foreign Affairs has eased its
diplomatic efforts to secure Tatham's release, believing that the UAE
government will grant him amnesty during Ramadan in September. She
hopes that her petition will prompt the Canadian government to make
his case a priority.