On September 14, 2001 03:24 pm, Ian Marchak wrote:
>
> Today is a national day of mourning in Canada, and we stand in sorrow, side
> by side our US neighbours. There was a moving ceremony held in Canada's
> capital today, of which I only managed to hear snippits, and pause for 3
> minutes' silence at noon today which was more powerful than I could have
> imagined.
I was there, on Parliament Hill. They estimate that as many as 100,000 people
gathered on the hill to show their respect for those who perished, their
outrage at the prepetrators and their support, friendship and
solidarity with our American neighbours and "cousins." This sentiment of
being both neighbours and extended family was echoed by the Prime Minister ,
who was there with the Governal General (the Queen's representative in
Canada), the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the US Ambassador.
This was an unusual and moving event. It was an offical state mourning
sevice, which in the past has only been conducted to mark the death of a
member of our Royal Family, our Prime Minister, or our Governor General.
100,000 people cheered when the Star Spangled Banner was played and again
when the US Ammbassador said that together we will track down and destroy
this evil cancer.
But, overall, it was an solemn and meditative event. Never before have I seen
1000,000 people created such a deafening silence. You could here a pin drop -
not a cough or whisper could be heard throught the 3 minutes silence, the
tolling of the muted hour bell from the Peace tower and during the lone
piper's lament which followed. At that point, 100,000 people, many with tears
rolling down their cheeks, turned and slowly walked away into the city in
complete silence. It was an eerie and moving gesture by the Canadian people -
perhaps more moving than any words that could have been offered to our
friends - and it came straight from the heart.
If you have a videoplayer plugin here is a CBC coverage:
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-lo/moscovitz_ottawa010914.ram
Sorry to ramble on like this, but I still feel affected by the event.
--
burns
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