About 30 people attended the annual Langley candlelight vigil to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women at its new location in Fort Langley.
Dignitaries who spoke at the Saturday event included MLA Rich Coleman, MPs Mark Warawara and John Aldag, Township Mayor Jack Froese, and acting City Mayor Gayle Martin.
Ever since it was started in 2005 by the Ishtar Transition Housing Society and Soroptimist International of the Langleys, the event was held in McBurney Plaza in Langley City.
The switch to the public space at the Bedford Landing Plaza in Fort Langley was made to make it easier for people in other areas of the community to participate, said Soroptimist International of the Langleys Program Chair Shirley Stewart.
“We represent all of the Langleys,” Stewart said.
Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017 marks the 18th year that activists around the world have observed the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
On that date in 1960, three Mirabal sisters were brutally assassinated.
They were political activists in the Dominican Republic and their deaths were ordered by Dominican ruler Rafeal Trujillo.
The resulting outcry caused the overthrow of the Trujillo regime.
In 1999 the United Nations proclaimed Nov. 25 as the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women and invited governments and international organizations and NGOs (non-government organizations) to organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the ongoing issues of violence against women around the world.
The vigil is intended as a reminder that women face violence not just in the Dominican Republic, but in other areas around the world, including Langley.
READ MORE: Vigil against violence against women relocates in Langley
This year’s candlelight vigil will incorporate a Red Sand Ceremony.
The ceremony was created by artist and activist, Molly Gochman at Art Basel, Miami in December 2014.
“The Red Sand Ceremony symbolizes the women who have fallen through the cracks,” Soroptimist International of the Langleys President Roseanne Ham said.
“It isn’t until you actually see the red sand in the cracks of the sidewalk that the reality of the situation becomes clear. It is a very moving ceremony that brings the modern day issues of missing and murdered indigenous women, human trafficking, homeless single (mothers), teens, and women, and domestic violence victims among many other issues, to life.”
Red Sand Project installations and events have taken place in all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries around the world.
READ MORE: Photo: Lighting Up the Night
Soroptimist International of the Langleys is an organization of business and professional women who have been working to help improve the lives of women and children in the Langley community through fundraising efforts since 1986.
They can be reached on Facebook by searching for “Soroptimist International of the Langleys.”
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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