Students from the Hélène Auffray school in Pueu gathered at the monument aux Morts in Papeete on Wednesday morning to honor World War I veterans.
Wednesday brought 108 years since the 1918 Armistice. The participants belong to the Défense class at the school. They are involved in a project to pass on historical memory.
The students produced a podcast examining the history of the Papeete war memorial. The memorial was erected in 1922.
November 11, for me, is a day of commemoration for the Tahitians who went off to war to give us back our freedom. And knowing also that here in Tahiti, we had bombardments that came from the Germans and that we were part of the war and that we must pay tribute to those who died for us
Pofaiti Lucas, Défense class student
Heiana Pito is another student in the class. She said the day is a moment of collective reflection.
It represents when we gather together in respect and remembrance to honor the memory of the Poilus and all our combatants from the fenua who fell for France and for freedom. It is thanks to these heroes that the First World War ended.
Heiana Pito, student
Manarii Pito is a teacher at the school. He said the project aims to ground history in lived experiences rather than in textbooks.
If we don’t talk about them, if we don’t pass things on to them, this memory will be forgotten. What also changes is that we no longer learn history from a book, but we teach it to them through lived experience, through participation in the various ceremonies.
Manarii Pito, teacher
Through their podcast and participation in the ceremonies, the students sought to show that commemoration extends beyond looking backward. It serves also to recall the fragility of peace.
