This morning I woke up to a radio commentary chastising people who choose to wear white poppies instead of red ones to signify their pacifism. As a peace and human rights activist it was disheartening to hear the DJs lam-bast people who choose to remember in a different way.
People who have experienced or participated in war live with it's consequences everyday. The sad truth is that our government does little to support veterans, the minimum to support refugees most of whom have experienced violence and war, and almost nothing to support international peace initiatives.
So one day a year they fly fighter fighter jets over the capital, play bag pipes and make speeches and they say that they remember.
If you remember the people who fought in World War I and II and if you remember those who lost their lives in genocides and armed attacks in which we failed to intervene,it is not only for one day a year.
So please remember tomorrow. Take it as an opportunity to be kind, supportive and loving to your neighbors, to support community development to make hard lives a little bit easier, and to promote peace in your own life and also to our leaders.
Recall that to remember, is to work for peace.
