National Day of Honour - Moments Defined - Mothers

Dust Series - Jessica Wiebe

The hype of Mother's Day can make it a difficult holiday, particularly for mother's who have lost children, and for those who not longer have mother's alive, or for those who could never be mothers, for whatever reason. Unfortunately, like so many of our Western holidays the media commercial hype is mostly overwhelming and continues to relegate the holidays to consuming and spending money. We have really lost our way in understanding the meaning of what is really important in life, that being our relationships and that we belong to one another.
 

Yesterday was a National Day of Honour, a tribute held in Ottawa Canada, to honour those who fought and served in Afghanistan. The Huffington Post had a good article covering the day. It is truly a bitter sweet tribute, considering the way the government does not provide veterans with the support and help they so desperately need, especially regarding PTSD. As well with Mother's Day being tomorrow, my thoughts and prayers are with the mother's, who will not be celebrating with their beloved sons and daughters.

Artists have historically recorded war. There is a now a new generation of artists doing the same. I think of J.P. Cormier and his song Hometown Battlefield which recently went viral online. A moving and powerful truthful tribute to our veterans everywhere.


Another, is the visual artist Jessica Wiebe. She was a reservist at the tender age of twenty, for the Canadian Armed Forces, was serving in Afghanistan, and is now attending the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. I am certain her family is full of gratitude that she returned alive.

Recently, Jessica won an art competition for emerging artists through Taking It Global, entitled Defining Moments.

Canadians everywhere are deeply proud of, and supportive of all of our Vets, none more so, than the families of those who have served. I wished we felt and could say the same, for our Canadian government.

God bless our Veterans, their families and our mothers everywhere.

Defining Moments.

Defining Moments.

Home Town Battle Field

I have never seen war, and I am very grateful for that. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to experience war. Those individuals that do, are changed forever, in innumerable ways that for the average person are absolutely unimaginable. Our daily " problems " pale greatly, and seem insignificant in comparison to the affects of war on the individuals that have been on the front lines.

We don't have to look far to see that war, civil unrest, and human rights abuses exist throughout the world.

I became motivated to learn more about the affects of war when I was in University. The main reason was because of Christopher Hedges book, War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning.

This week I saw two extremely compelling items, that coincided in relation to one another. They both moved me deeply. The first was a photography project about the genocide in Rwanda. Most people are very aware of this event, that lead to 800,000 deaths of Rwandans. Pieter Hugo's riveting and powerful photography about the Rwanda genocide and forgiveness, is entitled Portraits of Reconciliation   that is very poignant.
You can listen to the interview on CBC Radio Q program, Portraits of Forgiveness 20 years after the Rwandan genocide.

The now retired Lieutenant-General, and Canadian Senator, Roméo Dallaire, was appointed Force Commander for the United Nations for Rwanda in 1993, where he was witness to this genocide, which later lead him to become a dedicated, and outspoken advocate, for mental health, genocide prevention, human rights and war-affected children. Roméo Dallaire suffers from PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome a direct result of the atrocities he witnessed in Rwanda.

The second item I saw was the singer song writer J. P. Cormier's new and powerful song, Hometown Battlefield go viral, about Veterans and PTSD, what they experience when they go to war, and return home.
J.P.'s song is deeply heart felt, a beautiful expression to honouring our soldiers, and that has now touched thousands of Veterans, soldiers, and their families.