Mourners held electronic candles and bowed their heads in silence over the weekend to commemorate one of Canada’s darkest days.
A late afternoon vigil on Main Street marked the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre in which 14 women were gunned down at an engineering school.
“It’s no easier 25 years later to reconcile how someone could slaughter women in Canada because of their gender,” organizer Colleen Arnold, speaking through a microphone, told about 20 well-bundled mourners.
“These women were so young. Sadly, the memories of their deaths have lasted longer than most of their lives. That is just another injustice, another tragic point of view to add to the list of many from that horrible day.”
Standing in The Bargain Shop parking lot last Saturday, Dec. 6, Arnold, executive director of the Women’s Resource Centre, said public involvement is needed to end violence against women and girls.
“These women can no longer speak for themselves – it is those of us who go on living who must speak for them,” she said.
Arnold called for each victim of the Montreal Massacre to be remembered by name. Mourners then stepped forward, each bearing a photo of a different victim.
Members of the racially diverse crowd, including children, then observed a moment of silence, the electronic flames from their candles illuminating their grave expressions.
Arnold ended her remarks with a call to action.
“Thank you to everyone who has come out today to support ending violence against women and girls,” she said. “Let us here in Flin Flon work together and make it happen!”
