CAF Story | Transcending borders to answer the call
Video / October 13, 2023
Transcript
Today, we gather here to pay tribute to the remarkable
Contribution of Peruvians in the Canadian Armed Forces during the First and Second World Wars.
Their dedication, bravery, and sacrifice exemplifies the values that have shaped both Latin American and Canadian history, and their stories serve as a testament to the unbreakable bond between our two regions.
We need to pay respect to those contributions of our ancestors that came here voluntarily, to Canada, joined the Canadian Armed Forces and participated in the First and Second World War, defending Canadian values, defending the peace.
Not only Canada, but the allies also, and helped constructing what we have as a beautiful country now.
The Latin American soldiers who voluntarily joined the Canadian armed forces during the world wars left behind their homes, families, and homelands.
Answering the call to defend their principles of peace and justice, they believed in a cost greater than themselves, transcending borders to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their Canadian brothers and sisters.
I belong to the Latin American Soldiers Committee in Canada.
This is a team that developed the first Latin American soldiers’ graphical exhibition, people, attendees could see for the first time some faces of the Latin American soldiers that participated in those world wars.
The contributions of these brave souls remind us of the importance of the multiculturalism and diversity in our society.
Just as these soldiers crossed borders and cultural boundaries to serve Canada, we must embrace our differences and work together to build a stronger, more inclusive nation.
And this research, in my point of view never is going to end, because every day, I am finding new soldiers. And until I die, I will continue doing this research because it is very important, not only for us, but for their families, in their own countries, to see their relatives who came here and defended Canada and their countries too.
My recommendation for the generations, the new generations, is to always pay tribute to people who came here before, and always remember them in their hearts and their minds.
Because it is very important to keep them alive and to remind us: we don't have to make the same mistakes, in the case of what the Nazis did, and we have to create that environment in a powerful way that this country is going to be always the first country in the world for the quality of life.