Remembrance Day for the Students and Staff of CIS Shenyang

In countries around the world communities of people gather to remember those who were sent off to war and those who were victims and survivors of war. In some cases, it is “Remembrance Day, in others it is “Armistice Day” and in Shenyang, Northeast China it is the remembrance of 9.18.

At the 9.18 Memorial in Shenyang, a large bell hangs with the inscription ‘Never forget our national humiliation’. Each year on the morning of September 18th, local leaders and civilians gather to watch the ringing of the bell and to express messages of peace. On the same day in other cities throughout China, air-raid sirens are turned on for several minutes as a sign of remembrance of the Japanese invasion.

The Canadian International School of Shenyang is a collection of students from around the world and we gathered this year to observe the effects of war in our host country, China at the 9:18 Memorial museum.

Only by remembering the horrors of real war can we begin to form an opinion of its senselessness and gain an understanding of the need to make decisions that will prevent them.

These pictures are of our visit.