Black Mark On Canadian History

"Early that morning, cup of coffee in her hand,
Kissed her mother on the cheek, said 'I'm more busy than I planned;
I'll be coming home a bit late--could you keep the supper warm?
Oh, it's just another busy day.'" This Memory by the Wyrd Sisters

After 22 years, I still cry thinking about what happened on this day. I cannot help it. I am a feminist and the thought that 14 women were murdered simply because they were women—perhaps not even feminists in the strictest sense—still makes my heart break.

The Wyrd Sisters painted a picture in their song of what happened that day. The opening stanza a daughter leaving her home with such ordinary words; the next verse a lover leaving her partner excited that there was so much to live for; the final verse reveals the shocking news. The chorus though is what haunts us:

But it could have been me, just as easily.
Could have been my sister, left there to bleed.
Oh it could have been my father or brother done the deed--
Oh no! Don't let me lose this memory.

Every year I choose not to lose this memory. My friend Barb lived in Montreal at the time and I remember frantically calling her to make sure she was still alive. I think often of the survivors who live with the horror of the memory of what happened that day. I wonder how siblings, parents, grandparents, spouses, partners, friends and classmates survive this anniversary. I listen to the repeated calls for gun control and do not understand the arguments completely against it. I just know that what started as any other typical day in Montreal, in Canada, ended with an unthinkable act—an act that changed our history in the saddest way possible.

Strive for peace in this world. Think about equality. Think about violence against women. Teach the boys in your life that females are precious. Do your part to make your corner of the world safe.

Peace,

Suzanne