Standing up for peace far from home

My friends Win and Gandy have been talking about Canada’s peacekeepers. But what do you think these brave people actually do during missions far from home?

That is a big question, because they can be asked to do so much! There’s an old saying that peacekeeping is no job for a soldier, but only a soldier can do it. That’s because they need to know how to keep a tense situation calm. But peacekeepers also need to defend themselves and others if things get violent.

Let’s look at one place where Canadian peacekeepers served. East Timor is a small, tropical country in Southeast Asia. It is thousands of kilometres away from Canada.

More than 650 Canadian Armed Forces members made many contributions in East Timor from 1999 to 2001. They patrolled a large territory and provided security to the local people. Our navy sent HMCS Protecteur to join the international fleet of ships in the region. Canadian military helicopters and planes delivered many supplies, including food and medicine, for the people of East Timor. These flights also supported the international force in the region.

Our peacekeepers helped in other ways, too. They constructed a camp and repaired a school and hospital. They delivered humanitarian relief supplies and volunteered their free time to help local people. Peacekeepers are great ambassadors for our country.