was removed from life support this past Sunday.
Last week, this Nova Scotia teenager, hung herself.
Why would a lovely, seventeen-year-old young woman,
end her life?
According to her mother, Leah Parsons,
when Rehtaeh was fifteen,
she was sexually assaulted by four boys,
at a home. Apparently, one of the boys
took a photo during the assault and posted
it on the internet. After the posting,
Rehtaeh was the target of online assault:
these actions go beyond bullying.
Why were the four, teenage boys not persecuted?
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police pursued
an investigation, but due to insufficient evidence,
no charges were laid.
"The justice system failed my daughter,"
Leah Parsons said in an interview.
People across Nova Scotia,
and throughout Canada,
are asking, "Why?"
Why is it, that a young woman,
a victim of a sexual assault,
becomes a victim of cyber assault?
Justice minister, Ross Landry,
refused to review the initial investigation.
Due to an outcry from people across the province,
he has reconsidered.
Nova Scotia, this lovely, Maritime province,
surrounded by the Atlantic, has the highest rate
of sexual assault per capita in Canada (Avalon, 2009).
Halifax, its capital, has the third highest rate
of sexual assault in Canada (Avalon, 2009).
How are we, the parents, teachers, politicians,
counselors, school administrators,
friends and citizens,
failing our children?
Why is silence still the norm,
shame the secrecy?
While many internet posts are crying out for revenge,
Rehtaeh's mother says she wants justice,
not retaliation.The cyber-activist group, Anonymous, apparently was threatening to release
the names of the four boys.
At the request of Leah Parsons,
they backed away.
"I think they, (the boys), need to be accountable
for what that they did,"
Parsons said. "I don't want them
to be physically harmed." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/04/10/ns-rehtaeh-suicide-reaction-todd.html
This was their first glimpse of Canada, their new home.
Leaving their homeland to come to Canada
Our next door neighbour Erik, arrived here from Denmark when he
was ten-years old. He, along with his mother and siblings, came
to re-unite with his dad. You don't have to say too many "Hello's"
before you meet a Nova Scotian with connections to Pier 21.
Many "war brides" with young children, arrived
in Halifax to meet their future husbands, soldiers they had met
overseas.
War Brides on board ship
They arrived tagged, wondering if they
would recognize their husbands,
wondering what their new life
would be like.
Before any immigrant could
land on the Canadian shore, a doctor would examine
them. Imagine this---
after travelling across
a sometimes stormy ocean,
after arriving in a land
where perhaps they
did not speak
the language,
after waiting for oh so long,
they would have to wait even longer,
to be examined by a complete stranger,
to have their papers processed,
their baggage examined.
Many Canadians, not only on the East Coast,
but throughout Canada, trace their history back to
Pier 21 as the point of entry for a new life,
far from the ravages of war.
Pier 21 was also the departure point for 496,000 Canadian
troops during World War Two.
ships ready to leave
Bedford Basin in Halifax
during WWII
Our father,
Richard Arnold Prashaw,
was one of those troops.
At 27 years of age,
dad arrived in Halifax,
a soldier with the Perth Regiment
from Southern Ontario, Canada.
Along with his regiment,
he boarded the Reina del Pacifoco,
on October 5, 1941,
heading to Liverpool,
England, leaving his fiance,
my mother, behind.
Reina del Pacifico
Dad never talked to us about
the war. All we know is,
three days after the war ended,
his buddy, marching just a few
feet in front of him,
stepped on a land mine.
Shrapnel from the mine
pierced my dad's face,
near is left eye. My dad lost
some of his hearing. He also
lost his buddy.
I'm not sure why history,
especially of the wars,
seem to be following
me around. Perhaps because
I live with two guys
who are fascinated about
the history of WWI and WWII,
or just history in general.
All I know is,
my father fought on the front lines
during WWII. He received
a Mention in Dispatches for bravery
in the field. PRASHAW, Richard Arnold, Private (A.106881) - Mention in Despatches - Infantry (Perth Regiment) - awarded as per Canada Gazette and CARO/6074, both dated 22 September 1945. http://www.perthregiment.org/perthcitations.html
All I know is,
I am grateful that he came back,
that he married my mom.
