History

Photo: Myself and two of the other Canadian students standing in front of the awe-inspiring Vimy monument.

After two weeks of tremendous highs and some lows as well, I am really feeling fortunate to be where I am.

Visiting Vimy this last week definitely expanded my mind. It was the most beautiful, sunny day and everything was covered with marvelous greens. It couldn’t have been nicer, and yet, when I walked on this land once soaked with blood of many humans, I felt physically heavy. I cannot describe the eerie feeling that this place evokes, but I, for one, was not prepared for its relentless pressure in the depths of me.

As I viewed the monument, I felt both astonishment and awe, but also sadness as I reflected on the virtues and vices of humanity. I felt emotional, thinking of humans coming to the aid of others like this. Canadians, along with Moroccans and the British, came to help fight for the liberty of France.

Signs warning of areas with undetonated explosives frightened me, and made me more thankful for my sheltered life, but I also thought more about those who continue to live in realities such as this in world.

It felt good to see Canadian signs and flags again.

We also visited the city of Arras, which was destroyed in the war and completely rebuilt from the rubble. It is truly incredible to realize the strength within human beings to rebuild after disaster and to adapt and grow from it.

At Lewarde, we were taken down into a mine with a guide to learn about this dark time in history. The guide himself had worked in the mines for 25 years, but he was very jolly and joked with us about his hearing aid and bad vision. He showed us all the machinery... one by one turning them on. Each one was so loud that I had to plug my ears.

He then explained that he would work like that, without protection, with all the machines on around him, for 10-12 hours everyday. Crevices that looked like tombs… he showed us how the men had to stay working in there, half-laying, half sitting, trying to pick coal, for the entire day! This place reminded me of a slave camp.

Near the end, he showed us a model of they types of horses they used. I was sad to hear that the horses didn’t get to come up daily like the men. They often didn’t see daylight for weeks, and they’d finally bring them up when they either went blind, or were having breathing problems and couldn’t work anymore. He didn’t say what they did with them after that…