Memorial to the Canadian development and construction workers
The Monument to Canadian Aid Workers (Engl. Monument to Canadian Aid Workers , French. Monument commémoratif de l'aide humanitaire canadienne ) is a in 2001 in the Canadian capital of Ottawa ( Ontario inaugurated) monument in honor of developing and Reconstruction workers from Canada who perished during their missions abroad. It is currently unique in this form and dedication worldwide.
Reason for the establishment
In 1996, workers from two different Canadian organizations were killed while on relief missions abroad in quick succession. Tim Stone, then managing director of PATH Canada ( Program for Appropriate Technology in Health ), died in the Comoros in the crash of the hijacked plane on Ethiopian Airlines flight 961 . Three weeks later, the 51-year-old nurse Nancy Malloy, a member of the Canadian Red Cross and for the International Committee of the Red Cross, worked in a field hospital in the Chechen city of Novije Atagi near Grozny , together with five colleagues from other countries while she was sleeping murdered by unknown perpetrators.
The organization PATH Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Nurses Association then looked for suitable ways of remembering and started a joint project to create a corresponding monument. This was inaugurated four years later on June 28, 2001.
Design of the monument
The memorial is located in Rideau Falls Park in Ottawa. It consists of a rectangular archway and two large replicas of bronze bird feathers on a granite base. The monument also includes two granite benches on which visitors can linger. The dimensions of the monument are 4.88 m × 4.27 m in the base area, the bronze arch has a height of 3.35 m.
The design is based on a design by John Greer from Halifax ( Nova Scotia ), who won a national competition with it in May 1999. Its design and hence the monument is called "Reflection" (engl. Reflection ). The construction costs, which amounted to approximately 150,000 Canadian dollars, were financed by a fundraising campaign and a support amounting to 75,000 Canadian dollars by the Canadian International Development Agency .
The three main concerns in erecting the monument were to honor Canada's activities in the field of international development and humanitarian aid to people in need and to the victims of armed conflict, to honor all Canadian citizens who have lost their lives in such missions abroad, and the personal memory of Nancy Malloy and Tim Stone. Part of the project to erect the monument was the compilation of a permanent register of all Canadian development and construction workers who have lost their lives on missions abroad. This list currently includes the names and life dates of 93 people.
Web links
- Health Bridge - Monument to Canadian Aid Workers (English)
- Canadian Red Cross - Monument to Aid Workers (English, page also available in French )
- Health Bridge - Lost Canadian Aid Workers (English)
- John Greer, Sculptor Website of the designer with information and pictures (English)
Coordinates: 45 ° 26 ′ 32.6 " N , 75 ° 41 ′ 41.8" W.