By Afrika Nieves-Bentley
This Remembrance Day, most of us will stop to remember veterans of the two world wars and the Korean War: all major events of the 20th century. Who then will be remembered as the heroes of the 21st century?
Grade 11 student Keshia Gutierrez, who has built schools in Mexico, believes that aid workers are this century’s heroes: “If you compare aid workers who helped after the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, they are just as heroic as the soldiers in the World Wars,” says Gutierrez.
For others, artistic expression is just as important as aid work. “There are a lot of people that come to mind, but for me, I’d have to say Marilyn Manson. He’s a genius; he majored in art and psychology. His lectures are amazing. Also Bono, all the work he’s done is amazing because of all the people he’s helped,” explains Grade 12 student Elain Alexandre.
It’s no wonder more than one group of people and events come to mind. With today’s media and communication technology, accessing information about what is happening and who is making a difference in all corners of the world is more available than ever before.
Closer to home, the Royal Canadian Mint has recently introduced its Medal of Bravery coin in honour of “ordinary people performing extraordinary acts of heroism,” such as “running into a burning building to rescue people or diving into frigid waters to help someone who is clinging to an ice floe.”
In the end, it could be that the “Remembrance Day” of the 21st century is not on a specific date, or based on a particular event. Instead, it may very well become a reminder of the work that ordinary people do every day to promote peace in their own way.
Afrika Nieves-Bentley is a Grade 11 student from Bowmanville, Ontario. She travelled to Kenya this past summer with Leaders Today, and has become inspired to create change now for a more just and peaceful world for all people. This article is to be published on thestar.com on November 9, 2006. Read more at www.thestar.com/globalvoices.
