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Candlelight vigil honours the memory of Nicole Bell and other missing B.C. women

Friends and supporters share memories, grief and healing moments

During the evening of Nov. 2, outside a small cafe in Malakwa in B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 Interior, a group of people gathered to honour the memory of Nicole Bell and several other missing and murdered women. Grief hung thick in the air, but so did hope, and a sense of unity in remembering the women and striving for resolution.

Nicole Bell went missing in September 2017 and has not been seen since. She is one of five women who have gone missing in the North Okanagan-Shuswap over the past two years 香蕉视频直播 Caitlin Potts, Deanna Wertz, Ashley Simpson and Tracy Genereaux, whose remains were found on a farm in Silver Creek. They and many other women in B.C. and across Canada have gone missing over the years with few answers regarding their disappearance or what will be done to find them.

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Led by Jody Leon, founder of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Drone Search Team, the vigil incorporated Secw茅pemc traditions to help cope with the grief caused by the disappearances and to share memories of Nicole Bell, who would have been celebrating her 33rd birthday on Nov. 2.

香蕉视频直播淚n discussion with her family, it was decided we would hold a rally, a vigil, and bring awareness that it was her birthday, to ask people to think of Nicole,香蕉视频直播 Leon said while addressing the gathering. 香蕉视频直播淪he was a daughter, she was a sister and she was a mother, and her life mattered. So the fact we are here a year later and we don香蕉视频直播檛 know Nicole香蕉视频直播檚 whereabouts, by coming into ceremony like this, we call upon justice.香蕉视频直播

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While remembering Bell, several in attendance expressed the strong impact she had made on their lives, recalling a positive energy she passed on to others. Jesse Gallant, who grew up near Bell and would often babysit her three children, said his heart goes out to Bell香蕉视频直播檚 children who have to develop a strength beyond their young age.

The vigil was held on Nicole Bell香蕉视频直播檚 birthday, but it also served as an outlet to remember other women who have gone missing in B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 Interior, and throughout the province.

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香蕉视频直播淚n the Secwepemc Nation we also had one of our young sisters who was 18 years old, her name was Traci Genereaux, her human remains were found on a farm not far from here. We also have other women within the nation who are missing like Nicole. We have Caitlin Potts, we have Ashley Simpson, Deanna Wertz and, as I have said, Nicole Bell,香蕉视频直播 Leon said. 香蕉视频直播淪o by coming together in a vigil like this we remember them and we call for justice for these women. We know Indigenous women alone are over 4,000 in numbers who are missing or murdered and have not returned home on nights like tonight.香蕉视频直播

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Jody Leon(right), an advocate on women香蕉视频直播檚 issues and missing and murdered Indigenous women, prepares to offer a smudge to the people gathered for the candlelight vigil Nov. 2 in honour of Nicole Bell and other missing or murdered women in the area. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)
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Candles, artifacts, First Nations medicines and memories of several missing women were placed near their photographs to honour their memory during the candlelight vigil Nov. 2 at the Malakwa Cafe. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)
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A group of supporters stand with candles and posters containing images of missing women in the Shuswap area outside the Malakwa Cafe Nov. 2, as part of a vigil held on what would have been Nicole Bell香蕉视频直播檚 33rd birthday. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)
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Jody Leon leads a hand-drumming song during the candlelight vigil Nov. 2 at the Malakwa Cafe. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)