Medicine Hat College Student Association members from left, Shania Hoadley, Shintaro Iwata, Nikita Kovalev, Lily Schaerer and Juan Jaramileo share in a moment of silence to remember the victims of the École Polytechnique massacre on its 34th anniversary. More than 50 people attended the ceremony and vigil at the college to stand against gender-based violence.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
A memorial vigil at Medicine Hat College on Wednesday paid tribute to the 14 women who were killed in a mass shooting at École Polytechnique in Montreal 34 years ago.
More than 50 people honoured their memory on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with a moment of silence.
The ceremony also highlighted the problem of gender-based violence and featured a short video with names and photos of more than 160 women, men and children killed in Canada this year due to gender-based violence.
“We still have violence against women, and women are still being killed. Every day children are being killed because of gender-based violence,” says Natasha Carvalho, executive director with Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society. “Until we continue to struggle with that, I think it’s just important for us to gather and reflect and sort of just think about what people can do, or what you can do as a citizen.”
The sombre ceremony included speakers representing the Medicine Hat and District Labour Council as well as the college.
Carvalho asked those in attendance to reflect on how they can make a positive change against gender-based violence.
“The biggest thing to me about it is that we want to end the stigma around it because we know that so many women are trapped in isolation, not being able to speak out in really dangerous situations,” says Carvalho.
Members of the Student Association in attendance say they wanted to show support by standing up for victims of gender-based violence.
“We’re not going to accept that as the norm and really set the standard for how people should be treated in their lives,” says Shaina Hoadley, health and wellness co-ordinator with MHC’s Student Association.
“Bring community together to show that support because that’s where connection really comes from and where we can really look to be ending those harmful narratives,” adds Hoadley.
Hoadley says it can be a difficult conversation to have but important to talk about, band ceremonies help shed light on the dark topic.
“Not every case is exactly the same to the next. It’s about saying, ‘You know what? We’re not afraid to talk about it,'” explains Hoadley.
The ceremony ended with a candlelight vigil outside the college.
Origami butterflies were displayed to represent each person lost to gender-based violence and symbolized the dreams of young girls as they grow into women.
