Farid Rohani: Truth and Reconciliation Commission findings offer opportunity to correct past wrongs
By Farid Rohani
Growing up, the phrase "lest we forget" was a call to never forget the sacrifices of the millions of people who died to prove that no race was superior to the other.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's recent findings proved the abuse of a segment of our population, creating disadvantaged First Nations communities. It's the complete opposite of what we hold solemn.
The disastrous wars and atrocities of the 20th century required us as Canadians to begin seeing ourselves as members of one country with the same laws and rules applied equally to all.
Unfortunately, Canada was initially built around the notion of survival of the fittest, where servants of the Crown—imbued with a European colonial attitude—exploited other races.
The class system was so layered that children of the well-to-do were six inches taller than those of the poor. For First Nations, the results of this class system were seen in education, health care, and the job market.
The Crown practised racial superiority. Anglo Europeans cited First Nations culture religion as a convenient excuse to abuse those they saw as lesser human beings.
We don't live any more with the ideals of European colonialists. Cecil Rhodes used to claim that the British were the best people in the world; the former viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, proclaimed that British ideals are an instrument for the good of humanity—and one must devote all energies in our lives to maintaining them.
Those notions have clearly been dismissed. We have matured as a counry and as a people. New generations of Canadians from all backgrounds strongly reject the idea of the civilized versus the uncivilized. We don't acept that those from Europe are better than others and must get preferential treatment.
We must correct the wrong.
The rights of First Nations can be compared to the rights of women. A century ago, women were looked upon and treated as an inferior group. They were denied the opportunity to express their full potential and were lowered to the role of serving the needs of men.
We still see societies where women live with fewer rights than men. Globally, however, equality of the sexes has become an accepted principle and one has to go to the margins to find defenders of gender and racial superiority.
We must move with conviction and firm principle to do the same for our First Nations and accept them as equals in our society. And we must meet their educational requirements, health needs, and correct the wrongs of the past.
Our past dealings with the First Nations are tantamount to a disease. It survives among many as a social attitude and as an affliction in the eyes of a significant segment of Canadians.
We have yet to erase the dark past. Still, many First Nations people continue to suffer the effect of deep-rooted prejudices caused by false narratives.
We must fully implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Comission and deal with past injustice through building a new vision of citizenship and relationships that bring relief to First Nations communities. We will continue to face injustice and oppression unless we do so.
We must collectively address this issue by working together from the grassroots to the top echelons of our governments, building the foundation of new institutions that will deal respectfully and equally with those who were oppressed. We must look to our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that core common element we share, in rejecting acts and actions that permitted exploitation of others.
All Canadians, regardless of background, must be looked as members of one nation. For it is through nurturing that view that we are able to rise above matters that divide us and work for the common good and a common future for a better country. We must make a conscious effort to break down the barriers that long divided us by our cultural and ethnic origins.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report makes recommendations that would see us go a long way toward righting the wrongs, dismissing once-held prejudices, and banishing false narratives and unfounded racial stereotypes, which would allow Canadians to paddle together toward a brighter future.
Comments
9 Comments
Steve moore
Jul 4, 2015 at 9:45am
Great paper ! A giant step in improving society!
Dee Chardain
Jul 4, 2015 at 10:42am
Lot of truth spoken, and as Santayana said: "those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it" ... yet - lest truths be turned into half-truths & half-truths be turned into no-truths let us remember the past cannot be changed - so brood not about it and go about making a good today & tomorrow in our lives & society.
This is not just an indigenous matter ... Red, White, Black & Yellow/tan - Indigenous, European, Aftican & Asian ... Victimology literally sucks the life out of the here and now ... it helps nothing ... Victorology is your/our ticket to truth, beauty & goodness.
We come from the same universal family & we return to the same universal family ... "lets get together & feel alright"
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates
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Jul 4, 2015 at 12:56pm
"We must correct the wrong". A noble concept for sure. But most of these commissions are a waste of time and money because you can't correct the past, so why waste time rehashing it? all these commissions do is make a lot of money for some lawyers and government types. How about just acknowledging the past and living more consciously in the present??? As for "break(ing) down the barriers that long divided us by our cultural and ethnic origins" - that ain't gonna happen. Are you advocating that we must all deny our cultural and ethnic past for a better future??? Nothing about that sounds right. Here's hoping for a better future though. But we don't have to continually waste money and time to achieve that. We just need to pay attention to what is happening now. FORGET THE PAST!!!!!!
Golriz Boroomand
Jul 4, 2015 at 5:11pm
Farid, you have shed some light and fostered some hope for all of us Canadians learning the truth about a very ugly chapter in Canadian history. Thank you.
Kris
Jul 4, 2015 at 9:57pm
Nice Commentary, never thought of it that way, makes a lot of sense, will share with the kids in my class. Thank you
Axiom
Jul 6, 2015 at 3:56pm
To put it in its simplest terms, repentance can be summed up as follows: people apologize for some wrongdoings they did not commit in order to please those who were never subject to those wrongdoings.
Those about to repent committed no harm; to those receiving apology no harm was ever inflicted. All of this is perfectly ridiculous. In fact, repentance means making a selective choice in our history by safeguarding solely some specific and same historical periods, i.e., slavery, colonialism, etc., considered “dark” in the light of the dominant ideas whose goal therefore requires official repentance.
A much imagined inherited collective guilt adds up to this major anachronism which consists of “throwing backwards” into the past the value judgments belonging to our present time frame. The past, having being reduced to the “duty of remembrance,” the present, consequently, is bound to become fleeting, self-referential, and existentially empty.
As such the purpose of this “Truth And Reconciliation” commission is to spread the collective punishing guilt far and wide and to keep playing the profitable game of “blame whitey”
Farid
Jul 6, 2015 at 10:54pm
Axiom, you must have stayed in grade three because your line of thinking is to be stuck with the same thinking for ever.no need to go forward. My thinking is to learn from your past, bring yourself and others to a higher level and not keep a respected group of our citizens at a disadvantaged position in education, health care and jobs or social status.
Nigussie
Jul 24, 2015 at 6:17pm
Great article Farid! Disparities in society and obsolete attitudes are unfortunately inherent even in 2015 and a timely reminder is in its place.
YVR Panda
Aug 14, 2015 at 6:46am
Interesting that several of the comments are generally supportive of the article's position, yet disappointing that there are numerous "thumbs down" to those comments and relatively few explanations detailing the reasons for disapproval. In my dealings with a wide range of Canadians, I sense that there is a growing undercurrent of resentment (often not vocalized because it is hard to justify) from some people that the anglo-centric Canada is becoming displaced by a Canada that is beginning to reflect a diversity of international influences. Yet, the reality is that the European-dominated phase in Canadian history was itself an outcome of Anglo-European imperialism that emanated from outside Canada that forced itself onto an indigenous First Nations culture that pre-existed any European presence in this country. I suspect that the people who simply resent the changes in our society but do not find ways to adapt and influence the societal conversation in a productive way in light of the irresistable and continuing changes in our world will ultimately find themselves alone, forgotten and wondering what happened as the world moves on.