November 26, 2003 Opinions ¢ the other press © What Do You Remember? Macdonald Stainsby OP Columnist Remembrance Day recently passed, and with it were many thankyous to veterans, and others who have fought for a better world—one that we increasingly take for granted. I would like to echo these senti- ments, but as I do, I think about many others who should also be remembered, and who should be thanked as well. We are t6ld to remember those who perished in WWII, and here I agree. Yet we should also remember those who died in the very same fight—trying to prevent a war that our “leaders” wanted to hap- pen. Here I speak of people who went to places like China (which was invaded by Japan in 1931) such as one great Canadian named Norman Bethune. Norman Bethune was a doctor who worked in China helping to keep the fighters against the Japanese invasion healthy, and teaching young Chinese how to read, practise medicine, and the like. If you go to Montreal today, a statue of this all too often forgotten man is standing downtown. We should also remember those who saw the mortal threat posed by fascism before WWII and fought in Spain, while “democratic” governments quietly did nothing, essentially helping the Nazis and the Spanish Fascists take power through bombings and mass killings of the civilian population of Spain. From Canada, those volunteers who died fighting Spanish Fascism were called the Mackenzie Papineau Brigades, from the US, the vol- unteers were called the Abraham Lincoln Brigades. We must also never forget those who have perished inside Canada, not fighting to make some rich, white man richer, but for things like the right to organize a union, to vote, and to speak freely. These people have been forgotten as well, but does anyone really think that government leaders just gave you all the rights that you have today? Yes, indeed they were defend- ed in the battles of Dieppe in WWII, but they were also fought by nameless men and women who were willing to struggle against their bosses, scabs, and the police—all in the name of giving you and me a better future. That is as important an event as there could be, for it is these peo- ple in events like the “On to Ottawa Trek,” that helped to create the basic social structures of this society. I also want to thank some of those from the era after WWII. That was the last time, unfortunately, that “our” govern- ment was on the side of freedom and jus- been controlled by racist armies of white- only apartheid governments—govern- ments backed by the US and Britain— and who (with the help of Cuba) expelled the racists, and gave Africa a small taste of the freedom it will someday have across the whole continent. I wish to thank the people of Yugoslavia, for defying the orders of the West to surrender their own independ- ence, and who were mercilessly bombed for 78 straight days, only four years ago. As the economic order has punished peo- We can never again allow others to tell us why we wear the poppy and in whose memory. I want remembrance for all humanity, not those encased in certain borders. tice, and fought against those who would keep us all in bondage to great powers. I wish to thank the people of Cuba, who in 1961 defended their revolution and their self-determination, successfully beat- ing an invasion by the US for the first time. There is still a place called “Playa Giron” on the island of Cuba that has a sign that reads “behold this spot is the site of the first defeat of US imperialism.” I want to thank the people of Vietnam, for making it clear that even the most impoverished and determined people can defeat the most sophisticated and terrible weapons. The people of Vietnam fought for freedom from the tyranny of great powers and lost some three million people in the struggle. They paid the ultimate price from 1945 right up until 1975, when Vietnam finally expelled the invad- er—much like France had expelled the Germans at the end of the WWII. I want to thank the people of Angola and Zimbabwe, two countries that had ple worldwide to the point of starvation, it is important that even in losing that bat- tle, the people of Yugoslavia—among the best fighters against the Nazis in WWII— were able to say “Ya Basta!” I wish to thank most of all, the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine (along with Colombia, the Philippines, Nepal, Venezuela, Mexico, Malaysia, and so many others). By resisting daily, laying down your own lives so that your children might someday live in peace, without an overlord master from another country determining your political, economic, or cultural system, you help us keep in our minds what freedom really is. It also reminds us how terrible the real cost might be. People of Iraq and Afghanistan: I thank you for spending today doing what our North American heroes from WWII did, once upon a time—moving silently at night, trying not to be seen by the occu- piers, helping one another, establishing safe houses, and having no idea what kind of terror you might meet should you be caught by the overwhelmingly more pow- erful foreign army—you do this so others might believe in a future without enslave- ment. People of Palestine: I thank you for doing what it took many decades for the people of South Africa to do—to end the occupation of an ideology of the superior race or ethnicity, with laws based on your skin, your religion, and your background. Your resistance against nearly insur- mountable odds helps us all breathe a lit- tle easier. I also want to thank the many Israeli army members who are no longer willing to help blow up Palestinian homes and children. I thank the Refuseniks for rescu- ing the soul of Judaism from the Zionists. There are now thousands of you who would fight if the cause were just, but who will not oppress others. I also have some words _ of Remembrance for North America as well. I thank the First Nations who continue to never surrender their land, and to resist the continuing colonization of their own land by refusing to assimilate. In existing as people, you keep alive human dignity. And Canadians and Americans today who are willing to risk their careers, be scoffed at and blacklisted by their fellow citizens, who go to jail in defiance, and who travel by bus across the continent in order to merely attend a demonstration. A demon- stration of what freedom is really all about. We can never again allow others to tell us why we wear the poppy and in whose memory. I want remembrance for all humanity, not those encased in certain borders. For all human beings everywhere, I wore a poppy and had a moment of silence last week. Yet, the nagging feeling I get is simple: Don’t mourn the victims, but organize to free the survivors. We have nothing but dignity to gain. iP : PAILS Ute MU aes hme ele Wwww.mala.ca MALASPINA University-College 900 Fifth Street * Nanaimo, BC « VOR 5S$5 Friendly atmosphere, scenic campus and Vancouver Island lifestyle make Malaspina University-College the Right Choice to complete your Bachelor's degree For information contact Advising ¢ 250-740-6410 http://www.-otherpress.ca Apply now for Fall 2004 semester @ Page 11