11.11 at 11:11 in Canada in six time zones there is a yearly opportunity for everyone to reflect the meaning of Remembrance Day. Every human being on this planet is affected by the war in one way or another.  The recognition of sacrifice and acts of courage of those who bring peace to others should always be remembered and never forgotten. Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.

Remembrance Day is an everyday reminder that human beings need to learn from history to not forget the tragedies of others. The history repeats itself, and in 2018 many people are still fighting to protect their homes, families, neighbours, and communities. Others are leaving their homes, families, neighbours, and communities to find asylum/refuge in new places internally and outside of their home countries. There are also those who are directly or indirectly supporting warfare, by continuously colonizing human spaces around the world, those who see the war as an opportunity to test new weapons, create more fear and insecurity on this planet and benefit financially from other human’s tragedies.

World War 1 ended on November 11, 1918, when the armistice was signed by Germany and the Allies at Compiègne, France. 2018 is a 100 anniversary year reminder about the War to End All Wars. However, a world where peace and love, not violence and hate, overcame differences, a world where all people were treated as equals, a world where justice always prevailed is still work in progress. Peace is a work in progress.

What needs to be built to create peace? This year I visited Belfast (Northern Ireland) where Peace Walls were built as a peace-keeping measure. Walls do not build peace; they simply separate people and ideas.  While the reasons for conflict are numerous, there is one certainty—that the only way to build peace in this world is to build bridges, not walls, among people by working together. The connection among people can help us to build peace. Let’s keep building bridges and finding ways to share resources, to love and care for others.

Lest We Forget!