THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
Every year on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, at the eleventh hour, the nation falls silent. We remember those who fell. We honour those who served. For two minutes, the world stops turning, and we stand together in gratitude.
For veterans, Armistice Day is more than a date on the calendar. It is sacred ground. It is the day when the nation acknowledges what they gave and what they lost. It is when their service, their sacrifice, and their comrades are finally seen.
So when news arrives on this day that their regimental home—the Cameron Barracks—must be given up, the pain cuts deeper than policy or politics ever could.
This is not just about a building. Barracks are where bonds were forged. Where young men and women became soldiers. Where friendships were made that would last a lifetime, and where some said their final goodbyes to brothers and sisters who never came home.
For the veterans of the Cameron Barracks Regimental Association, this place holds their history. It is where they gather to remember. Where they keep the flame of remembrance burning. Where the names of the fallen are honored, and their stories are kept alive.
To be told they must leave—and to hear it on Armistice Day itself—feels like a betrayal of the very values this day represents. While the nation pins on its poppies and promises to never forget, these veterans are being asked to pack up their memories and go. Their sacred space will be given to strangers who have just arrived on these shores.
They understand the world has moved on. They know there are other needs, other priorities. The government says this move is necessary, that hotels are too expensive, that the asylum system needs better solutions. They are not asking for special treatment. But they are asking to be remembered. To be valued. To have a place where their service still matters.
On this day, when we ask them to stand in silence and remember their fallen friends, they are left wondering: does anyone remember them?
The anguish is not about politics. It is about belonging. About having a home taken away at the very moment when the nation claims to honour what that home represents.
For veterans on Armistice Day, that pain is profound. And it will not be eased by explanations or assurances. It can only be eased by being heard, being valued, and being given the respect their service has earned.
Lest we forget.
References
1.https://www.gbnews.com/news/cameron-barracks-military-veterans-kicked-out-hundreds-asylum-seekers
2.https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/backlash-as-300-asylum-seekers-to-be-housed-at-inverness-barracks
3.https://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/16920/plans_to_house_asylum_seekers_in_inverness
