Tie veterans’ welfare to Remembrance Day!

Yesterday, the country marked Remembrance Day.

This day falls on November 11 annually and has its origins in Ar­mistice Day, which was dedicated in Great Britain on November 11, 1919, in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the peace agreement that ended World War I.

Also known as “Poppy Day”, Remembrance Day is today observed in member states of the Commonwealth of Nations to remember members of their Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in World War 1 and World War 2 in the line of duty.

Remembrance Day, no doubt, is an important occasion, because it has more significance than a number of other days marked across the globe.

There are many involved in endeavours for the progress, safety and security of humanity but let’s face it – some duties are as dangerous as life-threatening.

The paths taken by security personnel are particularly riskier, considering the fact that there are bad people who have it as a penchant to engage in evil to disturb the peace and tranquillity of other men and these securi­ty personnel have to step in to protect innocent lives.

Such was the case of World Wars I and II, to the extent that soldiers had to be deployed to fight the enemies and protect the innocent.

It is reported that some of these good-hearted men obliged by duty to fight the enemies lost their lives.

A life lost in such a situation must be counted precious and not forgotten till the end of time.

It is in this vein that The Gha­naian Times views the marking of Remembrance Day worthy.

It portrays the indescribable weight put on the invaluable sacrifices made by those who died in the line of duty in the two world wars.

It also places some value on those war veterans who survived and are still living.

The Ghanaian Times believes these veterans take great pride in celebrating the day and those among them who worship God would continuously be grateful to Him that they survived the atrocities by His grace.

We know these veterans have stories which, when told, can give colour to the occasion.

Therefore, attempts must be made to record these stories so that even years to come, when all these veterans are dead and gone, their stories can be there for pos­terity to bring life to the celebra­tion of Remembrance Day.

But while saying this, The Ghanaian Times wishes to appeal to the government and other stakeholders to make life pleasur­able for the few veterans in the system before they respond to their Maker’s call to eternity.

Some are maimed and all of them are well advanced in age and weak, which means they can hardly work to earn income to take good care of themselves.

Sometimes, issues about their welfare are raised and this should not be the case.

These are men whose contri­bution to global peace and the country’s independence, for that matter the achievement of its sovereignty, cannot in any way be discounted.

Let us continue to celebrate Remembrance Day but let’s not forget the welfare needs of veter­ans because even though they did not die on the line of duty, their sacrifices are invaluable to the development of that country.