Remembrance Day

'We are remembering'

This was my first Remembrance day in Regina, and I have to tell ya’ll it was cold!!! Despite the fact that the sun was shining, people were wearing heavy winter jackets and breathing out cold air. I was surprised that so many people showed up and actually stayed till the entire ceremony was over. It was a remarkable moment and I am happy I was part of it.

Across the country Canadians were stopping today to reflect on the sacrifices of wars past and modern-day conflicts coming to an end. Today we are remembering the people who dedicated their lives to serve their country, both women and men. We are remembering those who fought for peace and justice. 

We are also remembering the women who played significant roles during both the First and Second World War. Whether it was at home, industries or abroad. In Canada women on the home front contributed to the war effort by doing farm work, planting and harvesting crops, taking care of children as well as managing the finances. At the beginning of the First World War, there were about 570,000 women working in industries. That number increased to millions five years later, most of them working factory jobs. Women were nurses who healed wounded soldiers both in Canada and/or in the war front abroad. Some women joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, and others were tailors, cleaners, cooks and clerks. 

Read more @ http://www.cbc.ca/news

 I have experienced war, and trust me when I say this… it is one of the most terrifying and excruciating experience a person can go through. Hearing the sound of gun-shots, seeing dead people on the street and having the fear of losing your family is a feeling I never want to experience again. The 1998 Civil War in Liberia has left both a negative and positive imprint on me. Negative because family members were lost, separated, and some of us had to grow up for almost 11 years without seeing our biological mothers. Negative because, my beautiful and innocent childhood was destroyed and the things I loved the most about my country was taken away from me. Negative because, it took away my beautiful Liberia, and left a poor,unstable, unhygienic and struggling Liberia, waiting to be fixed. 

Positive because, the Liberian population is becoming more literate. More knowledgeable, and more advanced in technology than before. Positive because, I can now make my beautiful Liberia, the land of Liberty better so that my unborn-children will not have to go through the same experiences again. I now know better than before. I am somewhat more educated to recognize who is my country’s out-side enemy, as well as who to make prosperous trade with in the future and who to keep close for the benefit of my beautiful Liberia… Positive because, I now know that I do not have to wait for International help, but that I can make that change myself with determination and courage of over-coming anything. At least I for a fact, along with my sisters brothers and friends now know better. For some of us abroad, we have dreams of going back home, and making extraordinary and longitudinal changes. For some of us, we want to avoid war and make love and peace instead. I hope that is the dream for all Liberians out there. I also hope one day we can also have a Remembrance Day for those we lost during the Civil War :)

Tea after the Ceremony with Philip <3