To survive: Canada must be responsible for the fate of indigenous children and their unmarked graves

To survive: Canada must be responsible for the fate of indigenous children and their unmarked graves

Esmaeil Baghaei, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, wrote in a post on X on the occasion of September 30, Canada's "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation", commemorating the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves of indigenous children who attended the school system known as residential schools:

"The bitter fate of Canada's indigenous children continues to trouble the world's conscience; children who were forcibly separated from their families, whose names, language, and identity were taken from them, and who were placed into a system of forced assimilation; a system where many of them were cruelly persecuted, and many died away from home and were buried in unmarked graves.

September 30 is called the "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation" in Canada; ostensibly aimed at honoring the survivors of Aboriginal residential schools and their families, and commemorating the hundreds of innocent Aboriginal students who did not return home. However, reconciliation cannot be reduced to a day of celebration or political praise. "Reconciliation" will remain partial as long as serious questions regarding residential schools remain unanswered, and the function and nature of these schools remain in the shadows.

🔹 The pain and suffering of indigenous children are not a subject for a culture war, but an issue related to truth and responsibility.

🔹 Addressing questions related to the graves of indigenous children requires providing evidence, transparency, and accountability, not denial, distortion, or silencing.

Without telling the truth, reconciliation will not be possible, and without responsibility, justice will not be achieved."

Irna Jahan