Words almost fail me. Yes, you read that right. Words do not come easy to me on the topic of Canada and Afghanistan. Amidst the still fresh news about next month’s election, the fledgling 4 th wave of the pandemic, the anxiety associated with the safety of students starting school soon, the incessant news about destructive wildfires throughout Canada, the resounding continuation of despair and loss associated with colonialism and racism, and the opiod crisis amongst other topics of despondency, I hang my head and try to comprehend our involvement in Afghanistan. According to The Canadian Encyclopedia (TCE), Canada sent over 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members to Afghanistan during our 12-year war with the Taliban. TCE records that the war killed 165 Canadians — 158 soldiers and 7 civilians and over 2000 received physical wounds. Scores and scores of Canadian veterans, TCE recounts, came back home from the horror of war in Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress injuries.
Happy New Year everyone! I’ve noticed how this past Christmas and New Year has made some folks more sensitive to what is going on around them. They are experiencing, in different ways, the underlying essence of North Renfrew. They are more in tune with people, birds, animals and their surroundings. As they immerse themselves in walks and cross-country skiing, as they reconnect through writing letters and actually conversing on the phone with friends and family, they are reaping a rejuvenating awareness of nature, community and creation all around them. It is as if they are having an awakening, or an epiphany of the natural and metaphysical worlds here in North Renfrew. Now don’t get me wrong on this point. Folks still understand and are living the reality of the main news story of 2020, the pandemic. But after almost a year of masks and hand sanitiser, we have evolved into parsing out the positive side or unique opportunities during these strange times to carry on enjoying life. After