Monday 18 July 2016

Tay River Park and the Women's Memorial

Monument to women murdered by violence

This is the first time I've seen the monument. It is a powerful, strong message for the community, as well as a message to the public. I sent the kids, and they took some photos for me. Violence against women has been of particular concern to me, my first year teaching my JK student disclosed that 'Daddy hit mommy in the stomach last night.' This was in a small community south of Ottawa in 1989.
I went on to write an article,  The White Ribbon Campaign, after the 14 young women who were murdered at l’Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989 and a group of men got together to speak up against domestic violence. Sadly, the Perth monument was cluttered when I tried to take photos. (You can read about that below.)


The monument is a project of the Survivor Engagement Group, a group of women survivors of abuse who reside in Lanark County. The monument was unveiled last December, 2015,  as part of the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women. The group remembered the 14 young women who were murdered at l’Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989 and the three women who were recently murdered in the Wilno area.

The number of cases in the Highlands has spiked.  Lanark County Victims of Violence by year:

2010 22
2011 26
2012 16
2013 24
2014 43
·      Supported 550 women via their shelter and outreach services. 
·      Helped 118 children via shelter and outreach services. 
·      Handled 1,575 crisis calls. 
·      Offered 1,200 plus hours of direct counselling support. 

 The Drone at Stewart Park Festival


From our seat at our lunch table on Saturday, taking a break from visiting vendors at the Perth Market, after visiting the Stewart Park Music Festival 2016, I spotted someone unpacking a drone. Little did I know that he was at the site of the monument dedicated to Lanark Country women who have been murdered by violence. I'd never visited it, although I have seen the photos.

A lot of people worked long and hard on this memorial. We have a terrible number of victims of violence in our county.

I went over and spoke to him. Apparently, Perth Chamber hired this man to take drone videos of the Stewart Park Music Festival. Now, I'm not sure the efficacy of such a project, the festival's locale has large trees, and he was several streets away, beside the canal. I thought you were supposed to be within sight of the target of your video footage. He was behind Coutts Coffee, while the festival was across the road.

 Sadly, he had unpacked his baggage on top of the monument dedicated to woman who have died arising from domestic violence. I suggested that the monument wasn't the right place for his bags. He said, "I suppose not," and carried on with his work, ignoring me. I didn't want a confrontation, and felt rebuffed.  He used the podium, with its carved dedication, to rev up his drone operating system.  I moved the smaller bag, in order to take photos. It was terribly disrespectful of him. I am so very angry.

People like this give drones a bad name. They used one while fighting the recent fire in and near Perth: Fire in Lanark County Highway #43, they can be invaluable. There are many who abuse them, however. I don't think the legislation is strong enough. At the HUGE Fort McMurray fire, they had to stop fighting the fire from the air, since there were citizens trying to capture fire footage for fun or profit.

Fort McMurray firefighters call for drones to be grounded - Edmonton ...

Also, in 2015, during a southern B.C. wildfire, drones flying in the area grounded eight helicopters and five skimmers.

Have you had experiences with drones or UAVs?


Aviation regulations, air safety, UAV and drone regulations

9 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

No experience with drone, but I find them fascinating. Sorry about this experience though.

Red said...

We're still a long way off on domestic violence. People just don't get it. Now drones. Yes there are good flyers and bad fliers and then the learners experimenting. My friend lost his drone in the first five minutes. They looked for two weeks. One day somebody came to the door and said,"Does this belong to you?"

Debbie said...

awwww, not nice!!! the next door neighbor has a drone, uses it all the time and i often feel my privacy is being invaded when i see it over in my yard!!!

but he also has security camera's on his home that point over toward my house!!!

Nancy J said...

How dare he put his bag there? Guess I would have said something, and then moved it a long way off.Down here, even with restraining orders or more, violence, shooting and abuse still happens.Have some happy thoughts today. Hugs and love from NZ.

William Kendall said...

What a bloody lout.

magiceye said...

The monument is indeed a sad reminder that failed to elicit any emotions from the drone pilot.

Jans Funny Farm said...

How disrespectful of him to use such a monument so casually. I'm not familiar with drones and had no idea they could interfere with anything as important as putting out a fire. Sad.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Yes, drones ... and those laser beams kids can get their hands on from the Big A shop... tsk... been a problem in OZ and UK too. As for this fella's 'tood' - double tsk... kinda reverse symbolism at work... YAM xx

Francisco Manuel Carrajola Oliveira said...

Um belo parque e um memorial muito original.
Um abraço e boa semana.
Andarilhar