Every child…..
A moment in time……
Taking stock……
The Covid19 pandemic is winding down, but not gone. Parts of the world are still reeling. Here in Canada, it is heating up in more ways than one. The temperature is the least of our worries, even though it is a big worry. Fires are lighting up and destroying life and limb. But a deeply serious and long lasting heat is rising from the thousands of children lost to their homes and families. The residential school programs of colonization made a vain attempt to reprogram an entire race through their children, while destroying life and limb. An exercise in genocide. Great bravery and commitment of many individuals surviving this horrendous rending of a long established and beautiful culture has been patiently, steadily waking this country up.
I am one of the privileged whites who did not understand the depth of this devastation. When I put myself in the shoes of the Indian parents, the shoes of even one Indian child, I edge closer to knowing. Not just understanding intellectually, but knowing that devastation in my heart.
“Once parents came to be viewed as the ‘enemy’,
their criticisms, no matter how valid, could be discounted.”
~ The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada,
Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada,
Volume One: Summary: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future
No comments:
Post a Comment