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I'm the granddaughter of vets. I'm cognizant of imperialist regimes, and a system that failed Indigenous, Black, Sikh and racialized members of the Royal/Canadian forces.
I wear a beaded poppy, and part of remembering is to honour the poor and marginalized.
#RemembranceDay
I wear a beaded poppy, and part of remembering is to honour the poor and marginalized.
#RemembranceDay
My maternal Grandfather, Ibn-Hasan Shah, seated bottom left. (pic via @sulemaan)
This is my paternal Grandfather Syed Masud Ahmed. He was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force.
This issue is political, emotional and also has layers of compex issues. There is no roadmap on how to honour your elders, respect their memories while concurrently learning about injustices in a system they participated in.
I think about it a lot.
I think about it a lot.
It hurts deeply when people say "don't politicize #RemembranceDay " because for many of us, our relationship with this day certainly was, is, and always will be political.
" because for many of us, our relationship with this day certainly was, is, and always will be political.
I my own (re/un)learning was bolstered after a conversation with an American friend from the South Asian diaspora. After I made a flippant comment about "war being an industrial complex" he told me how joining the Army was the only way to escape poverty, and be educated.
Black and Brown folks from marginalized communities are used in a system that was not designed for us. My history is connected to this, too.
My ask is this: as we remember today, please remember *all* of it. #LestWeForget
