Reschard V was once a fertile world, lush with life, a green jewel nestled away in low-security Placid. Millions of people called it their home. They had built a successful agrarian society they were proud of, and had lived peacefully for generations without the need of any military.
Ten years ago today, all of that changed. Everyone in Placid—and beyond—remembers where they were when everything that Reschard V was, was taken from us in a brutal and unforgivable terrorist attack that too few survived.
Everyone remembers where they were just days later when the Sisters of EVE convoy, bringing much-needed relief supplies and rescue equipment, was set upon by pirates and ultimately destroyed just within reach of its goal, adding thousands of more deaths to a toll that was already so difficult to comprehend. We remember how we thought that something like this could never happen to us, to Placid, to Reschard.
Today, the fields of wheat that once stretched like gold to the horizon are gone. There are no rows of corn reaching to the sky. Only the wind carries echoes of laughter of children who once played games of hide-and-seek among the crops, echoes of laughter of the hard-working men and women—entire generations of families who sought only to live their lives in peace. Today, Reschard V is a barren wasteland, a graveyard silently guarding the dead.
The tragic events of February 9, YC108 still have an impact on many people today. No one can ever fully appreciate the struggle the survivors endured during the seven months they spent trapped on the surface before being rescued. Some of them suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and many are unable, even today, to put their experience into words. We recognize and celebrate their courage, their determination, their perseverance.
On this day of remembrance, let us rededicate ourselves to the ideals of peace and justice, and let us look to the future with hearts full of hope. Let February 9, YC108 be a day that we wish never to know again.
Though the victims may be reborn someday, we are nevertheless diminished by their absence. Please join me in observing a moment of silence at 0900 today in their honor.
Thank you.