UN Peacekeepers Monument Unveiled in Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Downtown Peterborough
/Roughly 250 gathered at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a new UN Peacekeepers Monument at Peterborough’s latest park on the corner of Charlotte Street and Aylmer Street on Friday morning.
(From left to right) Retd Maj Lea-Anne Quinn, MGen Lewis W. MacKenzie and Rev. Frank Patrick at the Un Peacekeepign monument at the partially-completed park on Charlotte and Aylmer Street. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Peacekeeping veterans shared brief stories during the ceremony and honoured their fallen soldiers. The national anthem and ‘God Save the Queen” was sung by Rhema Christian School students.
Recent Syrian refugees were honoured and welcomed during the event. They sang songs showing their appreciation for Canada.
The monument was created by Studio F Minus’s Brad Hindson, Mitchell Chan and Michael Simon. It was commissioned from the City in 2017 and cost roughly $100,000 to build.
The two pillars have mirrors with a blue square near the top. Hindson says the design was a metaphor and homage to the duty Peacekeepers have.
“Peacekeepers have to cross invisible borders,” he said. “The blue square turns into a dotted line and dotted lines on maps represent borders so you’re actually crossing a border as you come through.”
The monument has been with a quote from Bill Steedman, former case manager of the Peterborough Constituency Office:
“From all across Canada, they came,
From coast to coast to coast.
There was no cry for victory on their lips,
Only a prayer for peace.
They sought not to impose their way,
Only to preserve those most elusive ideals:
Peace and humanity.
Some came home broken,
Some came home not at all.
For all of those who stood their ground,
We stand for them.” - Bill Steedman
