Monday, October 5, 2009

SHAME


Spirit Vigils were held all across Canada yesterday in memory of the more than 500 aboriginal women who have disappeared in the last three decades.

Vanished.

Gone.

This news story was given a tiny bottom corner of page A4 in the Globe. The Province newspaper did cover the story with a bit more of the attention it deserves.

First, there is the tragedy itself of young lives wasted.

Then, to add insult to injury is the astonishing lack of interest such a disaster seems to warrant.

How jaded and indifferent have we become?

I've written previously on this site that if 3 white Anglo-Saxon women were missing, the militia would be on watch.

But these are not white Anglo-Saxon women. They are natives. And many were prostitutes.

And now, we seem to take all of this in our stride, as if this is the way things are and this is perhaps the way things should be and what can I do about it anyway?

I can do many things. I can talk about the issue in public. I can encourage and poke the police into taking these matters seriously. Remember how long it took for the police to act in the Picton case and the Highway of Tears?

I can lobby politicians to wake up. I can get to know some aboriginal students or community leaders and help bridge the cultural gaps that still separate us dreadfully.

Please note that whenever I write about these missing women, a horrible man (I am assuming he is a man, of some sort.) sends me an anonymous comment in which he cheers. He says that these women are scum and that they deserve to be killed. I don't publish his comments. They are unbearably ugly. He is sick.

And our indifference is sick.

The fact that 520 Canadian sisters are missing is a tragedy and a shameful fact.

Remind someone in authority today.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

David: are there descriptions and names of the missing women? How would we know if we'd seen them if we don't know who they are or what they look like? We need more information and facts; otherwise, it just seems like numbers being thrown around. Imagine if we said an inanimate object was missing and then didn't provide a description! So much worse not to tell us what person is missing.

Chris M said...

I wonder if there is a way that anonymous can be found out?
I would hate to think this person is part of the problem of missing women.
Must be filled with rage and anger towards women (especially aboriginal)
Scary to think that this person walks amongst us.

Gary L said...

"And our indifference is sick".

There is nothing else to say...........

Unknown said...

David, Do some more research and find out that thousands of women are missing in North America and each one is dealt with individually and usually as a run away. It is an epidemic and crosses all races but no one has a handle on it. Start with F.B.I published statistics and be astonished!

Anonymous said...

The tragedy is that many of them are already running away from men: abusive fathers, boyfriends, husbands and likely end up being killed by them too. Okay, this is a loaded question, but how come men hurt women all the time?

Anonymous said...

Maybe someday we will refer to missing women as just that. Missing women, not missing native women. The sooner the country stops with the labels and we are all called Canadians the sooner the stereotyping will end . The authorities should be concerned any time anyone of us goes missing. Giving people a label ie indo / asian or what ever Canadian always brings an instant bias to the table.

David Berner said...

There were so many excellent comments on this immportant subject. Thanks to you all.

First, there is a website that attempts to name the mssing women:

http://hazel8500.wordpress.com/2006/05/17/missing-women-in-canada-from-1971-2002/

Please try that URL and follow the prompts.