On September 18, 2013, most UBC courses was cancelled to support the attendance of TRC event held in Vancouver. UBC students were strongly encouraged by the university to attend this event. TRC is national-wide event in Canada hoping to collect testimonies from survivor of the First Nation Residential School and increase public awareness of this dark past in Canadian history. During that grim times between 1875-1996, Aboriginal children, as young as 5 years old, were forcefully taken from their parents to be integrated into mainstream society through First Nation Residential Schools. Many were traumatized by sexual and physical abuse due to negligence at their schools, while some never survived to return to their families. For more information about this event, please visit this site: http://moa.ubc.ca/experience/exhibit_details.php?id=1209

The most memorable experience I had at the event was the pleasure of listening to sir Robert Waisman’s personal experience of the Holocaust during World War II. Robert Waisman is a survivor of the concentration camps. His speech led us through his days in the concentration camp. In his voice,  you can hear strength and courage as he spoke of the Holocaust, but also the deep scars that was left on his heart. To be able to stand in front of crowd of people and courageously share his story was truly inspiring and moved tears down my eyes.

Prior to the event, I had learned about the Holocaust and Residential Schools from history textbooks, but they could not remotely compare to the experience of listening to the truth directly from a survivor who had experienced it. Attending this event was a truly worthwhile experience, and I highly recommend your attendance to this event.