Today is Remembrance Day it commemorates Canadians who died in service to Canada from the South African War to the current mission in Afghanistan. The timing is significant because Remembrance Day also commemorate the official end of World War I on 11th November 1918. The war officially ended "at the 11th hour (11am) of the 11th day of the 11th month" in 1918, when the Germans signed the Armistice to end hostilities. According to information on Veterans Affairs Canada’s website the first Remembrance Day was conducted in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth. It was originally called Armistice Day until 1931 when MP Allan Neill introduced a bill to hold Armistice Day on a fixed day - November 11. During the bill's introduction, it was decided the word "Remembrance" would be used instead of "Armistice."
Two minutes of silence is the least I can do to honour the memories of the brave men and women who serve in the military and pay the ultimate sacrifice for me to enjoy freedom and democracy. In 2011, I had the opportunity to work as the Deputy Project Director for the USAID Rural Finance and Cooperative Development (RUFCOD) in Afghanistan. This micro-finance project helped to deliver financial services in rural and insecure areas of Afghanistan. The project established a network of Afghan-owned and governed credit unions that were sharia-compliant based on Islamic finance principles. The management and financing products were adapted to the culturally and religiously conservative rural areas of Afghanistan.
During my time in Afghanistan, I was based in Kabul but I had the opportunity to travel across the entire country to places such as Mazar-i-Sharif in Balkh province, Helmand province, Uruzgan and Kandahar. My security was led and provided by former US special force military personnel, whom I considered to be some of the finest human beings I have had the opportunity to work with as part of my team. In Kandahar I had firsthand experience of the outstanding work of the Canadian military.
It was evident to me that more than thirty years of conflict had crippled Afghanistan’s development. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than a third of the population living in extreme poverty. The country lack basic infrastructure and sources of economic growth as well as opportunities for self-reliance. There is need for improvements in literacy, the strengthening of governance and civic institutions. Development efforts such as the RUFCOD project are constrained by insecurity, poor Afghan leadership and governance, and corruption. A deep wedge of mistrust between foreigners and Afghans also hindered the project’s implementation and success.
Despite the challenges, in Kandahar I had the opportunity to see the positive impact of the contribution of the Canadian Government to the stability and development of Afghanistan. It was also in Kandahar that I heard stories from appreciative local Afghans about the yeoman services of the Canadian military. The Canadian military was not only engaged in military operations, they were also engaged in nation building and development as part of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT). They were involved in providing assistance to local farmers to improve crop yields. The Canadian military not only ensured that distribution routes were relatively safe, they also contributed to improvement in marketing and distribution channels for farmers. Our military also supported the work of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to promote the importance of governance and education.
Today I remember the fine men and women of our military some of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and democracy I enjoy. In many cases our soldiers will remain nameless. They will not be identified so that they are protected from retribution and consequently, their harrowing stories will go untold and unrecognized.
Today I salute the men and women in our military!
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
