It was hot, dusty and at times she feared for her life.
But weeks later, Michelle Wright says she longs to return to that army base in Afghanistan, where she slept in a tent, sat elbow-to-elbow with soldiers at breakfast and was left stunned upon learning of Canada's first female soldier to die in Afghanistan.
"I miss those soldiers," Wright says in a recent interview to promote her new album, Everything And More.
"Every artist that I went with who had either been there before or has just returned, we'd been e-mailing going, 'I miss it, I wonder how they're doing over there, I wish we were getting up this morning and going to have breakfast with those guys and gals.'
"It's just a funny thing because you almost hate to leave, you want to stay and do what you can do."
Wright was in Afghanistan when Capt. Nichola Goddard died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on May 17.
The night before, she had performed for soldiers set to leave for the front lines.
The mood started out sombre, says the country crooner, but it wasn't long before everyone was clapping and singing.
Wright didn't meet Goddard, but she says the overall experience -- along with the recent terrorism-related arrests in Toronto -- has left her more certain than ever that Canada is a target of radical extremists.
"They do not agree with our lifestyle and so they think we need to be eliminated," Wright says emphatically.
"It's not about oil, it's not about whatever ... It's about the radicals wanting to eliminate us."
The experience has so affected Wright that she's thinking about writing a book.
"I want to go again," says Wright, whose trips to Zambia and Honduras in 2002 and 2004 spurred her to sponsor a child from each of the impoverished countries.
"Maybe I can interview -- nobody has to give names -- but tell me, soldier guy, tell me really what you think, and the families, too. I'd really like to do something like that, so we'll see. I want the Canadian people to be proud."
The Nashville-based singer, known for hits including Take It Like A Man and He Would Be Sixteen, just published a book last year. It was a day-by-day account of her experiences titled, Wright A Year In The Life: The Journals Of Michelle Wright.
She plans to put up photos and journals from her trip to Afghanistan on her website within a couple of weeks.
But a political song about the war is not in the works.
"Politics to me is a very grey place. I don't know what the truth is," says Wright, who grew up in the small farming community of Merlin, Ont.
These days, she's focused on returning to her roots with her first full slate of country material in 10 years. After dabbling in pop, gospel and adult contemporary genres, Wright dives into southern-tinged melodies with Everything And More.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2006.07.08
SOURCE: BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI, CP
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