MONTREAL — I have always known Canada to be an impressive country, but a few weeks ago I elevated my impression of the Canadian people and government to the nationhood equivalent of a real class act. This was sparked by the bold and courageous gesture the Canadian government officially made by issuing a formal, public apology to the tens of thousands of indigenous people, and their families, who as children had been forcibly taken from their families and sent to boarding schools.
For an entire century, ending only in 1996, a total of 132 boarding schools mostly affiliated with churches took First Nations, Inuit and Metis children away from their families and placed them in schools where they would leave behind their native identity and language and essentially be remade into white kids. Many died and thousands suffered mental or sexual abuse, which manifested itself in later life in drug and alcohol abuse or high suicide rates.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last month stood up before an overflowing House of Commons, in the presence of many indigenous leaders, and apologized clearly, sincerely, and repeatedly. His words were noble, humble, powerful, moving, and worth repeating for some of their key sentiments. He said, among other things:
“I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools [for this] sad chapter in our history.… Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country…
“The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative…. The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation. Therefore, on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to aboriginal peoples for Canada’s role in the Indian residential schools system…
“The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. The burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country…. You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey.
“The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry.”
Several aspects of this apology are worth noting, especially by protagonists waging protracted and often barbaric conflicts in various parts of the Middle East, whether within or between countries. The apology was part of a negotiated settlement with indigenous peoples that includes $2 billion in compensation to the abused individuals, and for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission — the first such commission created for an industrialized country. This is a living example of how the excesses of European racism can be acknowledged and redressed in part by a combination of gestures, statements and compensatory mechanisms.
It is a noteworthy moment when the White Man offers humility, truth and apology for historical misdeeds and crimes committed by some, but not all, ancestors. Accepting national responsibility and apologizing on behalf of the entire country and government, as Premier Harper did, was an act of monumental national courage, honesty, self-confidence and fortitude.
By chance, I met with two Canadian friends who both at one time were national political leaders. Each mentioned separately that the negotiated settlement and the apology were very tough experiences, but also the right thing to do.
Also by chance, this occurred while I have been completing research and writing of a text on Palestinian-Israeli ‘moral compensation’, or symbolic restitution — meaning the statements and gestures that Israelis and Palestinians both believe they must get from the other in order for a negotiated peace agreement one day to foster permanent peace and reconciliation.
Material, territorial and political compensation are always necessary in resolving such conflicts, but they are never enough on their own. Dehumanized people can only find solace, and give peace and security to others, when their humanity has been restored. This applies alike to indigenous Canadian children taken from their parents’ arms, black South Africans tortured to death by Apartheid system jailers, or Palestinians who were expelled from their towns and villages and made refugees in order for the state of Israel to be born.
Premier Harper and his government, speaking for all Canadians, gracefully and correctly noted that, “the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation,” coupling the formal apology with a request for forgiveness, and the creation of the truth and reconciliation commission. Indeed, it is heartening to witness such a class act, in a league of its own — a powerful example that others in the world who care to resolve conflicts, and achieve peace and security, would do well to study closely.
Rami G. Khouri is Editor-at-large of The Daily Star, and Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon.
Copyright © 2008 Rami G. Khouri
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Released: 09 July 2008
Word Count: 813
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