The following letter was published by Calgary Herald on Nov 9th, 2023.
I’m starting to see more and more poppies being displayed. Are these just meaningless ornaments now? We talk a great deal of “Lest we forget,” but is that really so?
Innumerable innocent children are being killed in the Hamas-Israel war, yet we choose to remain silent. We put on poppies to comfort ourselves as if we’ve done our part in commemorating the past and striving for a better future. But this is merely self-deception. True commemoration entails us doing everything in our power to ensure that the atrocities of those past world wars never occur again.
It’s about time we attach authentic action to our symbolic words and collectively call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Lest we forget.
Ali Shahan Butt, Calgary
