OPERATION YELLOW RIBBON

By Debbie Bulloch



The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are about to end. I have previously written about the wonderful and inspired performance of all the athletes who have competed in these games.

The other night, however, while watching the short-track ice races I was deeply offended by the comments of one American athlete. American Apolo Anton Ohno will soon go down in history as the greatest short-track skater. His comments last night did nothing for his reputation with a needless and baseless swipe at a celebrating host nation.

“You know, it is the head Canadian referee [Michel Verrault] out there,” said Ohno, with a smirk and a shrug. “And there were two Canadians in the race.”

Ohno is a tough competitor; I can certainly understand that, in the heat of competition, people sometimes say foolish things. Nevertheless, Ohno’s baseless accusations (I watched the race and I watched the many replays of the “bump” and I agree with the ruling by the Canadian judge) needlessly offended a nation that has been a steadfast ally and friend from the moment of our nation’s birth.

Let us flash back for a moment, to the morning of September 11, 2001. America had just been the victim of a cowardly, terrorist attack. Over 3,000 people laid dead or dying among the rubble of buildings in New York and Washington, D.C. Chaos, confusion and anger followed the realization that America was under attack.

In what was perhaps the darkest moment of our Nation’s history, one people stood next to us, shoulder to shoulder, to help us confront our enemy. In the hours following the attack, and for many days and weeks after that, Canadians reached across our common border and held us in their arms.

In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Transport Canada created a plan, called Operation Yellow Ribbon, to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights grounded by the attacks. The operation started after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all aircraft across the United States and re-routed incoming international flights to airports in Canada.

One particular town in Canada went far and above the call of duty. Gander is a small Canadian town with a population of about 9,000 residents. It is located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Well before the 9/11 attacks, Gander already had a place in history, especially aviation history. In 1935, Gander was chosen for the construction of an airport because of its location close to the northeast tip of the North American continent. During World War II, as many as 10,000 Canadian, British and American military personnel resided in Gander. The area became a strategic post for the Royal Air Force Air Ferry Command, with approximately 20,000 American and Canadian built fighters and bombers stopping at Gander en route to Europe. Without the support of towns like Gander, the Allied fight against Germany may not have succeeded.

After the Second World War, Gander became a refueling stop for transatlantic flights. Gander eventually earned the name of "Cross-roads of the world," as nearly all overseas flights had to stop there before crossing the Atlantic.

Gander’s finest moment, however, came in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In the hours and days following 9/11, the people of Gander opened their hearts and doors to welcome air travelers, most of them Americans, who had been left stranded by the closure of all civilian airports in the USA.

For nearly a week, the people of Gander welcomed, housed, fed, and clothed thousands of air travelers. The influx of travelers nearly doubled the size of the town. Unable to provide hotel accommodations for so many stranded travelers, the people of Gander opened their homes and took them in. Travelers slept and ate in the home of the Canadian citizens of Gander. When travelers needed prescription medicines (all their luggage had been confiscated for security reasons), the owners of the two pharmacies in town opened the doors to their stores and told their guest to take anything they need – at no charge. When the stranded travelers needed clothing, the people of Gander organized an impromptu clothes drive and collected clothing for their “guests.”

For all their generosity and kindness, the people of Gander refused to accept one single penny of payment. It should be noted that Newfoundland, and especially Gander, is not a wealthy area. The people of Gander are hard working people who are not economically well off. Because of their generosity, however, in one magical moment in time, the people of Gander became the richest people in the world.

Public efforts to help those affected by Operation Yellow Ribbon led to positive remarks on the subject by people such as former Canadian Prime Minister Chrétien and his wife, Aline; the United States ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci; Collenette; Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul; and in the provinces, premiers, and lieutenant governors. Airports involved in the effort received messages of thanks from passengers, airlines, residents who took in the passengers, and staff at U.S. immigration and U.S. customs. Edmonton International Airport also received a child passenger's drawing of the diverted flights on the ground there, published on page 14 of their 2001 annual report.

On September 11, 2002, about 2,500 people gathered at Gander International Airport for Canada's memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the attacks. In an address to the gathered crowd, Prime Minister Chrétien said, "9/11 will live long in memory as a day of terror and grief. But thanks to the countless acts of kindness and compassion done for those stranded visitors here in Gander and right across Canada it will live forever in memory as a day of comfort and of healing."

In closing, Chretien said, "You did yourselves proud, ladies and gentlemen, and you did Canada proud."

Chretien was only partially right in his remarks; the people of Gander did Canada proud. But the people of Gander also did rest of the world proud. That is exactly what we have come to expect from our Canadian brothers and sisters.

Apolo Ohno ought to go back to his history books and re- read the chapter on Operation Yellow Ribbon. Perhaps then, he will understand why Canadians are our natural brothers and sisters and why he ought to rejoice in their accomplishments as if they were his own.