Newcomer Voices - Respect

By Suat Nayman

I want to write about "Respect" after last November 11th in a broader sense.

November 11th is Remembrance Day. In 1918, after 4 years at war, Germany agreed to stop fighting the Allied forces, but in these 4 years 11 million soldiers and 8 million civilians died, and 21 million people were injured. This is approximately 2% of all the world population in 1918, which means for each year 0.5%. This was the first big world war in the earth. At 11:00 am on Remembrance Day, a moment of silence takes place. The poppy is a symbol of November 11th in many countries.

Photo: memorial plaque and poppy flowers

Did you know there is still the same war in the world? In 2019 a virus began to threaten the world. In the last 2 years approximately 5.2 million people have died, and this is approximately 0.7% of the world population. This percent is almost as much as World War I. Around the world, there are a lot of healthcare workers fighting with this enemy which is too small to be seen with the naked eye. I know one day we will win this war, and this will be thanks to healthcare workers. 

Photo collage with three images of healthcare workers and one image of a hand holding a poppy flower with a large field as background.

I don't know which day on the calendar, but we will pay our respects to these honourable people. I already respect them today. What will be their symbol?

Suat Nayman is from Turkey. He studied Mathematics at university but always worked in the Stock Exchange in Istanbul as a broker. Suat came to Canada in August 2019 after working as Financial Manager at different companies for 19 years. He started language education with Mohawk College in September 2021, where he's attending the LINC 5/6 Media Project class. He has been living in Niagara Falls since April 2021. Suat likes hiking, travelling and scuba diving. Suat's goal is to reach the speaking CLB 7.

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