Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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28 SAMARA on that fateful October day, had such a great significance for the rest of the free world. Yes, in the end they were conquered. Many escaped, but many others stayed behind to fight and to die. We hear little about Hungary these days, but it is our duty after watching them suffer, to prove to them that we have not forgotten; the sacrifices they made were not in vain. Every man, woman and child who was killed is a tribute to a brave and courageous people. Although they were defeated, to us they remain the conquer- ors. They fought for what we take for grant- ed—Independence. Judith Brown, Form 5 A. An Education Through Travel In my opinion, a real education can be developed through travelling. Let us take Greece as our example; for it is the country I am most familiar with. Here are a few of my observations. Tell me you might say, breaking the whirring silence, Are the Greeks very dif- ferent from us? What are they like? There is no denying that the Greeks are different from ourselves. No better and no worse; just different. Their standard of values is not al- ways the same as ours. To Canadians, time is money. To Greeks, it is a dimension to be lived in leisurely, with as much profit and enjoyment as possible. This I noticed of the Greeks almost immediately upon arrival in Greece. The Canadian works at high pitch straight through his business day. The Greek breaks his with an afternoon siesta, opens his office or store again later in the day, believing he does more work this way. But, in fact, he is only lightly putting things off till AVRIO —tomorrow. Another thing which can easily be ob- served on any Greek street or home is the great difference in greeting. For example, a Canadian greets his friends with a brief Hi . Greeks stop to kiss on both cheeks and to inquire about the health of each other ' s house- holds. The Canadian business man asks a visitor to his office, What can I do for you? The Greek asks How do you take your coffee? Greek men tip their hats to each other and both sexes rise when a person senior to those present enters. The attitude of the well-bred Canadian and the well-bred Greek towards women is approximately the same. The Canadian turns his newspaper to the sports or financial page first. The Greek reads the political news first on his practically ad- less paper. The Canadian knows the fine point of difference between automobile makes and discusses the standings of baseball or football teams. The Greek can explain the platforms of the numerous political parties of his coun- try and knows the background of important political leaders past and present, Greek and foreign. Greeks live a two-legged existence as com- pared with Canadians who have definitely taken to wheels. If they are not walking or working, they sit around little cafe tables or sidewalks, in alley and arcades, in public squares and parks, along the shore, under trees on a hillside. They are also, like the Canadian, a singing people. They sing at work and at play, in taverns, on the march, riding in cars, buses or boats. Young people sing on their way home from gatherings; strollers sing going through the streets as they strum their guitars. The educated Greek is an insatiable read- er. He devours books in a wide range of subjects, frequently re-reading the classics of his own language in modern translation, re- maining aware of all the latest developments in all branches of learning through foreign language periodicals and books. The Canadian is letting Television take up most of his read- ing time. Foreigners may discuss their favorite authors intelligently with almost any literate Greek. And so I could go on endlessly comparing people and their different ways of living. Now tell me, do you think my observations helped in giving me a real education through travel? Efi Malamaki, 6 Matric.

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SAMARA 27 silent, still, save yet the faint trickling of a little stream winding its way past the edge of the woods. From the banks of this stream, the whole world seemed to be a veil of muted crimson, brown, and gold, threaded here and there with the striking ebony-black of the branches and trunks. A soft warm breeze drifted around and about these branches, crad- ling the delicate wisps of leaves as they gently floated to the ground. Motionless, as if painted, a mother doe and her fawn stood peering from the edge of the woods. Hesitantly, the soft, liquid brown eyes roamed the clearing before the doe timidly stepped out into the open. The clear sunlight silhouetted her velvet brown form against the mossy earth, while the fawn was left among the trees, still blended with the browns and golds of his forest protection. Presently we followed and they approached the banks of the little stream. Vigilantly the doe watched as her young son drank from the cool running water; then in haste, she also quenched her thirst. So graceful were they, the dainty feet, and alert ears, they seemed like the surrounding branches, slender and conscious of every whisper in the wind. Beauty was in their every movement; beauty was in everything. Linda Chauvin, Form 6M. Independence Independence! What is the true meaning of the word? A dictionary defines it thus: Freedom, exemption from control, indepen- dent income. Although the dictionary does its best, no one can really appreciate the true significance of this word unless they have lived under the yoke of oppression. People of the Western World are prone to take their personal freedom and other liberties for granted. They have fought for this freedom, but I sincerely doubt if the majority of these people have any conception of what it would be like to live under a dictatorship, which had no consideration for the individual or his personal freedom. The people of Hungary understand the meaning of independence, and ironically the reason that they understand it so well, is be- cause it has been denied to them. During the events that led up to this tragic drama of a mass killing by the Russians, the Hungarians had a brief, sweet taste of freedom. It started on October 23rd, 1956, when the Hungarians, through an overpowering common desire, suddenly united all classes against the enemy, without planning or leadership. These people shattered the illusion that a whole generation could be taught to believe that wrong was right. These people revolted against the ty- ranny of a dictatorship. Did the Hungarians hope to win? They must have realized that they could not expect to win against such gigantic odds. They were outnumbered before they began! But, hope is a powerful weapon, and they kept on; sacrificing themselves for their beliefs. They acted on a common impulse, heedless of the consequences. These men, women and in some cases children, who made the revolution pos- sible, fought for what they believed in: in- dependence. The people of Hungary gained five precious days of freedom, before the Russians brutally extinguished the bright flame of liberty. Thousands were killed, and thou- • ands of others went through untold suffer- ing. As the fighting continued, the whole free world watched with bated breath, powerless to prevent the inevitable end of such a cou- rageous people. If a people such as the Hungarian Freedom Fighters could extract even a promise of freedom from a despotism such as Russia, through a mixture of courage, anger and des- peration, then we the free world should, since we have more to work with, at least be able to draw a compromise from Russia. This was the first time that she had been forced to dis- solve an all-communist government, and set up in its place a government that included elements of non-communism. The Soviets re- tracted their promise later, but the fact re- mained that they had made it. They had been outmanouvered by an unorganized, unified people for five days. That is why the events

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SAMARA 29 Three People I should like to meet Death! Morbid? Awful? It may be for some, but to me it presents the one and only method of meeting three men who have lived their lives before mine, and have left only written records of their deed. To you my choice may seem strange: three men whose lives have made a definite mark in history, but who were as different as day is from night— St. Francis, Hitler and Louis Pasteur. Good and Evil! These are the two great forces in our world. St. Francis, typifying the positive force, was a man of love and com- passion. To him the stars, the light, the beasts and the birds were friends and brothers whom he loved, and who loved him. He held no fear of life, only the fear and love of God, from whom he gained courage and strength. St. Francis was simplicity personified, he did not wow people to his side; he won them by his overflowing spirit of goodness and truth. On the other side we have the great force of Evil, well portrayed in a character well known, and well feared— Hitler! This man was a shell of cruelty and egoism. He was completely void of any redeeming quality of compassion or goodness which would have made a human being of him. To him, man was just a means to build his power and might. Fanatically he bore down on the people and pounded his principles into them. His methods of winning people to his side were concentra- tion camps and war! In contrast to these two personalities, very positive and very negative, I would like to add Louis Pasteur, neither a saint, nor a sinner. He is the kind of person that typifies what I strive for. Medicine, the work of his life, was his whole world, and indeed his life. He seemed to live and breathe it, not sitting back to admire his accomplishments, but ever going onward working for the better conditions of his brother and fellow man. To me, these three men represent the world we live in. The saints are few but have lasting powers that are remembered from generation to generation. The evil dictators rise with power and might but inevitably crumble and disintegrate, leaving only me- mories of hate. We, the general people, are mostly Louis Pasteurs, working to make some- thing from the life we have been given. We may not accomplish what he did, but it is the spirit of work and love that counts. This is why, for me, death would be a great adventure. To meet these three people face to face would be like looking at the world in the three separate blocks that form it— the white, the black, and the ever-present grey. Linda Chauvin, Form 6M. The Path through the Woods It begins when he is born and ends with, infinity! At the beginning the wood is thin and the trees are sparse, but as the age of the traveller increases so does the depth and darkness of the wood. It surrounds him so completely that at times he can distinguish but few of the paths of others that cross his. There are billions of paths. One for each member of the human race both past, present and future. Each path is different from the next. The wood is composed of plants from all over the earth and from all times of Man, but they are known to us. The individual paths of human beings, although sometimes irregular, conform to a larger path, that of our species. This path too has a place in the universe. There will be other species, with their smaller paths of other individuals winding through a wood with some plants, physically strange yet familiar to us, others entirely unfamiliar. Is this path the path of our universe— or is there another larger, that is the main one of our universe? And is the one of our uni- verse just a branch of a still more extensive one that is composed of the main paths of other universes, ad infinitum to eternity? Or is there a path at all? Judy Reid, Form 5C.