A few weeks ago, my random surfing took me here. The Mother's Day Project - one woman's attempt to help us all put a face to the losses of war; specifically, the female deaths.
This project has immediate meaning for me. I currently serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, my DH is deployed overseas, and I have lost friends in Afghanistan. Although we as Canadians fight in a different theatre, the human losses are not diminished by the lines between countries and causes. Our administrations and their justifications may be different, but the tragedies represented by these deaths go far beyond government policy.
The name I received belonged to a 19 year-old British medic, Eleanor Dlugosz. She of the bright blue eyes and infectious smile fell to a roadside bomb with four others on 5 April 2007. She loved her job and serving her country.
Eleanor, or Ella, or DZ to some, feels like a friend of mine after this project. Her happy smile, her hopes, her aspirations, her short life and meaningless death have left their mark on me as I stitch her name in remembrance.
We remember, Ella.
2 comments:
Susan,
You did an amazing job on that piece. I'm still a little scared to start lol....push me, will ya! Thank you for showing me this project. It truly is sad that we need to have projects like these, but if it just makes one think a little harder. I know how much this means to you. Nice work.
Thankyou for such a personal and thoughtful tribute to Eleanor.My names Dave.Eleanor and her family were our neighbours in the time they lived in Somerset.You could not have met a more wonderful and charming girl and no photo has ever captured her beauty.We all still remember her and always will the village she lived in Runnington had a photo taken in 2000 to look at it now and know one of the youngest there is no longer with us still brings tears to all.May God keep safe all who serve to protect and help others in any country in anyway.May we soon end tragic conflicts and learn to accept others.
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