ANZAC
day
Tuesday 25 April, 2000
Today is ANZAC day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Armed Corp. Today, in 1915, ANZAC soldiers stormed the beach at Gallipoli in Turkey. Some 2700 New Zealand soldiers died on the beaches at Gallipoli. Young men fighting for the British Empire on a beach halfway round the world.
ANZAC day is a day of remembrance for these soldiers and for all those who've fought in the various wars.
I always have mixed emotions on ANZAC day. I feel incredibly moved thinking that New Zealanders have died, in their thousands, on beaches, and in jungles, and in trenches and towns all around the world. None on New Zealand soil, but in the Pacific and Asia, in Africa and in Europe. I try to imagine, but usually stop as it's so obviously beyond my experience, what it must feel like when you know you're about to die, somewhere so far away from home.
So I have this sense of gratitude that people were brave enough to go and fight in foreign wars.
But I also can't imagine how I could do that. The idea of giving your life for your country, let alone someone else's country, seems hard to comprehend. For your family, yes, that I can understand. But for something as abstract as a country?
Ah, I dunno. I just hope I never have to make a choice like that.
Spare a thought for soldiers who've fought and died. Whatever you think about war, they deserve some respect.