And Then There Were Six

Sometimes I feel like I am in a parallel universe, a place cut off with the rest of the world. It is not true, of course, but that is the way it feels. If I didn't have access to the internet, I would feel even more cut off.

Sometimes, though, I am reminded that I am not very cut off at all. There is a television channel called Pulse that shows leads from a number of international broadcasters. Depending on the time of the day, you can watch content from CNN, BBC World, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, and South African and Chinese networks whose names I do not know.

When the news was announced that three NATO soldiers died in southern Afghanistan, the headline ran on the "ticker tape" that each network runs at the bottom of the screen. Even though the nationality was not announced, I suspected the soldiers were Canadians. A quick visit to the CBC website last night confirmed it.

This brings the number of Canadian servicemen who have died in Afghanistan since I have been in Tanzania to six:

• Master Corporal Anthony Klumpenhouwer
• Corporal Matthew McCully
• Master Corporal Darrell Priede

And, most recently:

• Sergeant Christos Kangiannis
• Corporal Stephen Bouzane
• Private Joel Wiebe

Every day that new casualties are announced becomes a mini-Remembrance Day for me. I think about the lives that had been lived and the lives that had been lost. I think of the families and friends that the dead have left behind. I wonder if the dead and the survivors know that the terrible sacrifices are appreciated. Most of all, I pray that one day peace comes to Afghanistan. But until that day, I can only remember the men and women who serve, and be grateful that they are willing to do what they do.