Quebec : Je me souviens
Unlike at home, there isnt one number plate system for the whole country. Instead, each province issues its own driving licences, and each province has its own car licensing system. In Ontario, where i live, the plates say "Ontario - yours to discover" - and there is plenty here.
In Quebec, they say "je me souviens" - I remember.
My initial question to myself was 'remember what?', but as i surfed the net to find out a little more about the history of the phrase and its relevance today, I found a more interesting site of an artist. Use the links on the Harry Palmer site to get to Canadian places and people (low on the home page), and follow through to the personal statements made by people of Quebec back in 1992.
This was 3 years before the referendum of 1995, where 49.42% of Quebec voted for separation, against 50.58% who voted to remain part of Canada. Basically then, half of Quebec doesnt want to be part of Canada..
So what does Je me souviens mean to them?. There are some wonderful, yet revealing inputs into the feelings of various Quebecois about their home and its history.
Denis Gobeil writes "that of being conscious of our originality and remaining faithful to what it represents, for the brilliance of Canadian entirety", which for me is in a spirit of embracing the whole.
Francois Könitzer wrote:
"I remember being born under the lys and having suffered under the rose." This expression, more or less exaggerated, has been often repeated before. Even today, Quebeckers show some "pseudo-patriotism" that revealed a sectarian attitude towards other Canadians.
Independance is a "biodegradable idea." The real patriotism is in a united Canada.
Marie-José Labbé wrote:
It reminds me of my grandparents talking about their lives and how quickly they passed. Their memories, punctuated by wonderful moments, are what happiness is all about.
In the future, "Je me souviens" will surely make me glad. These historical events will continue to enrich future generations, and, I will be part of it.
Claude Martin: "I remembr how our ancestors were driven by hopes of settlement in America and how much their dreams of cultural influence were highly inspired. These hopes were slowed down by the conquest, but not completely killed... I remember also those shady deals imposed upon our ancestors, which have severely restricted their rights while efficiently protecting those of the majority... I am utterly convinced that Canada could have been a much richer country if only the majority would have accepted to integrate our particular and different values into their own. They rather invited us to deny our original strengths... Sorry, I hope it is not too late now!"
Annick Gignac: "As a Québécoise I REMEMBER the ways under which my people grew in recent centuries. From the time of the conquest until nearly 30 years ago there was the assimilation of the French Canadians into the anglo-saxon empire when my peoples' place was to become English throughout the province. I REMEMBER why my people have for the last several years begun again to fight for their survival and for the survival of future generations"
Suzanne Breton :I remember also Lord Durham, who looked upon us as a nation with a worthless history, which had to be assimilated as soon as possible, and reluctantly, I still remember the humiliation and indignation my ancestors felt"
Ann Martell:
"Je me souviens... the kindness of friends and new acquaintances while I massacred their language, and then the delight I took in eventually being mistaken for a québecoise.
Je me souviens... telling a friend that I had never really been challenged, that I had never really accomplished anything difficult in my life and I remember her chastising me for overlooking the challenge of learning a second language and living another culture.
And finally, je me souviens... that I have been fortunate to have had the opportuntiy to live in la belle province and that it has been, and will continue to be, an enriching, rewarding experience."
Sylvain Fortier : "Je me souviens". Maybe it will be the last sentence that I will utter. For me, the motto of Québec is very justifiable for this province. Because, who can forget this combination of lands and waters that form this beautiful province. Québec remembers its citizens, who make it a proud province. Québec also remembers everyone who came to to visit. "Quebec I remember you, you remember me".
There is a huge amount of history and feeling in these 3 words, whether it be in the shared history of Canada, in the personal memories of peoples own lives, or in the historic conflicts between England and France.
This isnt a time for opening up political arguments. But the feelings expressed in Quebec in some ways are a demonstration of the feelings that we all encounter in every part of our own lives. From the small life lessons that we try not to repeat, we take small memories with us. At the other end of the scale, a sense of cultural history is impressed into each of us. I for one carry the cultural past of the Irish. Its not that i necessarily want to ignore Irish history, it is more that I believe that, unless I embrace my position as part of the society in which I now live, rather than look to blame it for its previous indiscretions, how can I play my part in carrying my society forward. In many nations around the world right now, countries, faced with the cultural issues that global reorganisation has brought with it, each have to answer their own questions about where they belong, where they have come from and where they are going. No country I have seen or visited is immune from that...
On the other hand, as the great Christian Nerlinger once said, "he who closes his eyes to the past cannot take responsibility for the future". And perhaps the biggest lesson any of us learn from personal and collective history is that we should learn from the lessons of the past, so we don't repeat our mistakes.
Maybe there should be a bit of 'je me souviens' in all of us.
In Quebec, they say "je me souviens" - I remember.
My initial question to myself was 'remember what?', but as i surfed the net to find out a little more about the history of the phrase and its relevance today, I found a more interesting site of an artist. Use the links on the Harry Palmer site to get to Canadian places and people (low on the home page), and follow through to the personal statements made by people of Quebec back in 1992.
This was 3 years before the referendum of 1995, where 49.42% of Quebec voted for separation, against 50.58% who voted to remain part of Canada. Basically then, half of Quebec doesnt want to be part of Canada..
So what does Je me souviens mean to them?. There are some wonderful, yet revealing inputs into the feelings of various Quebecois about their home and its history.
Denis Gobeil writes "that of being conscious of our originality and remaining faithful to what it represents, for the brilliance of Canadian entirety", which for me is in a spirit of embracing the whole.
Francois Könitzer wrote:
"I remember being born under the lys and having suffered under the rose." This expression, more or less exaggerated, has been often repeated before. Even today, Quebeckers show some "pseudo-patriotism" that revealed a sectarian attitude towards other Canadians.
Independance is a "biodegradable idea." The real patriotism is in a united Canada.
Marie-José Labbé wrote:
It reminds me of my grandparents talking about their lives and how quickly they passed. Their memories, punctuated by wonderful moments, are what happiness is all about.
In the future, "Je me souviens" will surely make me glad. These historical events will continue to enrich future generations, and, I will be part of it.
Claude Martin: "I remembr how our ancestors were driven by hopes of settlement in America and how much their dreams of cultural influence were highly inspired. These hopes were slowed down by the conquest, but not completely killed... I remember also those shady deals imposed upon our ancestors, which have severely restricted their rights while efficiently protecting those of the majority... I am utterly convinced that Canada could have been a much richer country if only the majority would have accepted to integrate our particular and different values into their own. They rather invited us to deny our original strengths... Sorry, I hope it is not too late now!"
Annick Gignac: "As a Québécoise I REMEMBER the ways under which my people grew in recent centuries. From the time of the conquest until nearly 30 years ago there was the assimilation of the French Canadians into the anglo-saxon empire when my peoples' place was to become English throughout the province. I REMEMBER why my people have for the last several years begun again to fight for their survival and for the survival of future generations"
Suzanne Breton :I remember also Lord Durham, who looked upon us as a nation with a worthless history, which had to be assimilated as soon as possible, and reluctantly, I still remember the humiliation and indignation my ancestors felt"
Ann Martell:
"Je me souviens... the kindness of friends and new acquaintances while I massacred their language, and then the delight I took in eventually being mistaken for a québecoise.
Je me souviens... telling a friend that I had never really been challenged, that I had never really accomplished anything difficult in my life and I remember her chastising me for overlooking the challenge of learning a second language and living another culture.
And finally, je me souviens... that I have been fortunate to have had the opportuntiy to live in la belle province and that it has been, and will continue to be, an enriching, rewarding experience."
Sylvain Fortier : "Je me souviens". Maybe it will be the last sentence that I will utter. For me, the motto of Québec is very justifiable for this province. Because, who can forget this combination of lands and waters that form this beautiful province. Québec remembers its citizens, who make it a proud province. Québec also remembers everyone who came to to visit. "Quebec I remember you, you remember me".
There is a huge amount of history and feeling in these 3 words, whether it be in the shared history of Canada, in the personal memories of peoples own lives, or in the historic conflicts between England and France.
This isnt a time for opening up political arguments. But the feelings expressed in Quebec in some ways are a demonstration of the feelings that we all encounter in every part of our own lives. From the small life lessons that we try not to repeat, we take small memories with us. At the other end of the scale, a sense of cultural history is impressed into each of us. I for one carry the cultural past of the Irish. Its not that i necessarily want to ignore Irish history, it is more that I believe that, unless I embrace my position as part of the society in which I now live, rather than look to blame it for its previous indiscretions, how can I play my part in carrying my society forward. In many nations around the world right now, countries, faced with the cultural issues that global reorganisation has brought with it, each have to answer their own questions about where they belong, where they have come from and where they are going. No country I have seen or visited is immune from that...
On the other hand, as the great Christian Nerlinger once said, "he who closes his eyes to the past cannot take responsibility for the future". And perhaps the biggest lesson any of us learn from personal and collective history is that we should learn from the lessons of the past, so we don't repeat our mistakes.
Maybe there should be a bit of 'je me souviens' in all of us.
posted by CBC at 1:59 pm
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