Claiming the stories

The past few months have been transformative in so many ways. I returned to Vancouver after an intense, cathartic trip feeling the urgency to do something, but not knowing what ... the story of my grandmother's last resting place, of that horrible camp, was foremost in my mind. But the mind plays tricks, and in a short time the images and sensations began to blur, and something else began to take over. The need for my generation, and even those younger than me, to take ownership of this story has become vitally important. For so long we relegated this story to our parents and grandparents - they were, after all, the ones who lived it. But each year there are fewer and fewer survivors, fewer and fewer first-hand stories. It is up to us, the next generation, to claim the stories of our ancestors and honour their memories; it's up to us to make their stories relevant to the world today.