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.

CANADIAN SKATER'S COURAGEOUS PERFORMANCE

By Debbie Bulloch



Every four years we are treated to the grand spectacle of the Olympics. According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were started by Heracles (the Roman Hercules). The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. Finally, in the year 393 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the games because they were “too pagan.”

Fast forward 1500 years later when a young Frenchman, named Pierre de Coubertin, began the movement to revive the Modern Olympics. Inspired by what he believed to be a lack of “vigor” among French soldiers, de Coubertin (better known as “le Renovateur”) founded the Union des Societes Francaises de Sports Athletiques (USFSA). Eventually, the USFSA became the driving force for the restoration of the Olympic Games.

Watching the Olympic Games (Winter and Summer) is like looking into a window where we can see the whole spectrum of the human drama parade right before our very eyes. The fields of athletic competition test, as no other endeavor can the power, the resilience, and the beauty of the human species.

This year’s Vancouver’s Winter Olympics are no different. Even before the opening ceremonies, we witnessed in horror the tragic and sudden death of a young man on a training run in the luge. Seconds after launching from the starting gate, we saw his body fly through the air, striking a support beam and then landing lifelessly on the ground.

So far, the highlight of these winter Olympic Games was the personally courageous performance by Canadian ice skater Joannie Rochette.



Joannie Rochette is a young French-Canadian ice skater. She was born and raised in the small town of Ile-Dupas, in French-speaking Quebec, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. According to Joannie’s bio, the town of Ile-Dupas is best known for duck hunting and for an annual tractor-pulling contest – not an auspicious birthplace for a future world ice skating champion.

Joannie is an only child. From an early age, Joannie’s parents, Therese and Normand Rochette, worked hard to help their daughter realize her dream of achieving Olympic gold. Then, in a tragic twist of fate, Joannie’s mom died of a massive heart attack just 48 hours prior to Joannie’s turn to skate – Therese was only 55.

Most, if not all, of us have experienced deep personal losses. Losses that are so heart rending to make us run into a dark corner and crumble unto our knees, leaving us to doubt whether we will be able to ever stand up again and face the sun.

No event is as devastating to a child as the loss of a parent – the very cornerstone of a child’s life. So no one would have blamed Joannie if, after getting the news of her mother’s sudden death, she had packed her ice skates and gone home to mourn.

Standing as tall as a giant, the diminutive skater [she stands 5’2” (1.6m) tall and weighs 112 pounds (50.80 kg)], Joannie took to the ice Tuesday night she skated with the heart of a lion and the grace of an angel.

Without her mom sitting on the stands, Joannie was left without her biggest cheerleader. Or was she?

Cheering her on were her loving fans, Canadians who waved banners reading “GO – JO.” The melting pot of nationalities that packed the ice skating arena lustily roared their approval and in one magical moment Joannie transcended national borders. She ceased to be a Canadian ice skating champion and, instead, became everyone’s daughter. With her skates’ blades cutting across the ice, propelling her from one jump to the next, Joannie was no longer a motherless child – on that night and at that moment Joannie had a thousand mothers in the arena and millions more moms (myself included) watching on television.

At the end of her performance, when Joannie collapsed in tears, we all cried with her. Mrs. Rochette, who was surely watching her daughter from up above, must have also been crying – tears of joy and happiness.

At the end of Tuesday’s performance, Joannie was in third place, behind the favorites from South Korea and Japan. The women’s figure skating finals are scheduled for Thursday night. No one knows how Joannie will perform or what her final standing will be.

But if Joannie’s mother in Heaven has her way and all of Joannie’s mom here on Earth have our way, angels will be by Joannie’s side lifting her up through every jump, cushioning every landing and propelling her skates across the Canadian ice.

Citius, Altius, Fortius – Faster, Higher, Stronger

To read more about Joannie’s story of tragedy and triumph, click here:

Rochette wins hearts with Olympic skate

And here:

Rochette’s Brave Performance

EDITOR’S NOTE: The city of Vancouver has gone out of its way to extend the welcome mat to visitors to this winter’s Olympic Games. Their efforts include the publication of a booklet to help foreign visitors figure out the nuances of Canadian culture. "Canadians are polite and apologetic," says the booklet. The booklet then adds, "Don't be surprised if someone apologizes to you even if you were the one at fault. It's our natural reaction, sorry about that."

Glo, if you are reading this: Mea culpa – I’m sorry.