Gurpreet Singh 

This past weekend, as I was walking by the sea wall in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, I noticed a lone female biking with  a huge tricolour of black, white and green, and a red triangle at the corner

She parked near the roundabout leading to the park and let the Palestinian flag flutter to seek the attention of drivers passing by. Some of them honked in support while others ignored her, but the woman remained determined to make her point. I approached her and received her permission to take some pictures. She was friendly enough to allow me to do so, but I didn’t ask her name. However, her compassionate smile and dedication left a deep impression on me.

The world continues to watch an ongoing barbaric attack on Palestine by the Israeli forces, leaving many innocent women and children dead. But there are many who remain indifferent to the sufferings of those unfortunate civilians, enjoying their privilege to live in a country like Canada. During these depressing times, such small gestures give us some hope for a better future.

That woman reminded me of what the tenth master of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, said to uplift the spirits of his disciples during wars. The essence of his message was that he considered each of his warriors to equal more than one hundred thousand enemies in the battlefield. The power of the one and only cannot be ruled out. Even American Indian movement leader Leonard Peltier has said that he believes in a one-man army when it comes to a fight against heavy odds. I therefore salute this woman for opening the eyes of many who are either too consumed by their daily life, or have chosen to look away when it’s time to speak out.