My aunt, who lived most of her life in Johannesburg, was on a visit to Vancouver in 1986 when she found herself under attack for South Africa’s oppressive apartheid segregation laws.
At a dinner party my parents hosted she raised her voice for everyone to hear, “Who are you to judge my country for apartheid when Canada’s record for treating Native Indians is equally bad.”
There was a hush in the room and I distinctly remember everyone felt slighted, and then defensive. Someone piped up, “Surely you cannot compare South Africa with how we treat our First Nations?”
Thirty five years later and it's evident that my Aunt had a valid point. As the layers of our ugly colonial history peel away they are bringing old wounds to the surface and creating new ones.
It’s been a hard year, because not only are we coping with the pressures of a pandemic but we have been facing the ugly truth about racism. It’s all around us, it’s messy, violent, uncomfortable and staggering when we try to take it all in.
With the discovery of the remains of 215 First Nations children in unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School, we have woken up. We can no longer hide or deny our ugly history with respect to the treatment of Indigenous peoples.
Fear of, “the other”, continues. The mowing down of a Muslim family in London, Ont. last week was almost too much to bare. The tragedy of a family killed for their religious beliefs seems unfathomable, yet it’s happened in Canada before.
As a white immigrant woman I feel deeply compassionate, but posting on Facebook isn’t enough. So how do we begin to create change?
For a start vote for politicians who are proactive, show kindness and compassion to others, read Indigenous authors, or connect with Indigenous BC to educate yourself.
Write to our MP Carla Qualtrough, because while I am pleased the Federal Government has pledged to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We want prudent results, not more cash thrown at a complicated problem.
The memorial of 215 pairs of children shoes on the steps of City Hall, instigated by Ladner resident Erin Mawhorter Alger, was an excellent example of how we can work towards change individually, and collectively.
Let’s think like Erin and do our part to combat racism and injustice, however small a gesture that might be, no effort is insignificant.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance reporter and broadcaster who won’t be intimidated by cancel culture and will speak from the heart without having all the answers.
