Sunday, December 6, 2009

Remembering the Montreal Massacre of 1989

The Montreal Massacre:  20 Years Later.   Remember The Ladies!

This post commemorates the ladies of the Ecole Polytechnic of Montreal, whose lives were taken by a misogynist killer Marc Lepine.  Let this be the day of rememberance for the ladies, for they didn't died in vain but let it be for changing the way society views women in general.  I hope this day of remembrance be a wake-up call for people everywhere.  That violence against women occur everyday, in wartime and in peace, rich and poor, white and people of Color, around the world. 

Let's also take time to remember the victims of the woman-killer George Sodini, the 500+ victims of serial killing in Juarez as well as the victims of serial killer Anthony Sowell.  May the women be part of our memory.

CUPE: December 6:  A Time to Mourn, Then Work for Change


TRURO, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 4, 2009) - On the anniversary of the December 6 massacre in Montreal, the president of CUPE Nova Scotia says the provincial government needs to take a stand and stop the abuse of women and their children.








Danny Cavanagh says, "Canadians from coast to coast should spend some time this weekend remembering CUPE member Maryse Laganiere and the thirteen other women who were killed in the 1989 massacre at the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.






"This tragic act has served to galvanize our resolve to put an end to violence against women in all its forms," says Cavanagh.






"A great place to start here in Nova Scotia would be to adequately fund our women's shelters. It is appalling, for instance, that there were 1,269 admissions of women and their children to shelters across Nova Scotia between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008.






"We need to work with government, with our members and within our communities to educate people and to teach people how to stop abuse. Sadly, 85% of women residing in shelters on April 16, 2008, were victims of abuse," says Cavanagh.






Cavanagh says we all have a responsibility to work towards solving this problem through increased awareness and changing our mindset about how we deal with it as a society.

Julian Real has written an excellent post on the tragedy and how it affect women in Canadian society and the world at large, then and now, at:

http://radicalprofeminist.blogspot.com/2009/12/gynocide-recognising-20th-anniversary.html

Please read it, then meditate and weep!

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