Unrepentant

Noam Chomsky has described Kevin Annett as being 'more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than many who have received it in the past' (that certainly means you, warmonger Barry O'Bomber). Kevin's a Canadian and a former minister of the United Church of Canada, a man who was stripped of his ministry after clashing with church authorities over their plans to sell off aboriginal lands which they held in trust. His work now continues with Native peoples who are demanding justice for themselves and their relatives who suffered at the hands of church-run 'residential' schools in the 20th Century. Kevin has travelled extensively to publicize the campaign for recognition, compensation, and apology for the crimes committed by the British Crown, Catholic Church, United Church of Canada & Anglican Church, including visiting the Vatican. He has been beaten, harassed and had his family life destroyed because of what he stands for and particularly because of what he stands against. I don't think that it would be patronising to call him a modern day hero for his dedication to this cause.

If you've seen the film 'The Magdalene Sisters' about similar establishments in Ireland then you'll have some idea of what goes on in these places, but the story of the schools in Canada goes much deeper and much darker. Many people were abducted by the RMCP (the 'Mounties'), murdered in these establishments and their deaths covered up by the authorities. Sexual and physical abuse was widespread, forced sterilization was carried out and many were victims of medical experimentation without their consent. It's reckoned that 50% of those in the schools died or went missing as a result, possibly totalling 50,000. Sounds like the Nazis, doesn't it? Except that this was carried out in Canada before, during and after World War II and continues in kind even now.

Please watch the award-winning 2006 documentary 'Unrepentant' for more information.
'This documentary reveals Canada's darkest secret - the deliberate extermination of indigenous (Native American) peoples and the theft of their land under the guise of religion. This never before told history as seen through the eyes of this former minister (Kevin Annett) who blew the whistle on his own church, after he learned of thousands of murders in its Indian Residential Schools.'

Only available in its entirety on Google Video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6637396204037343133#

Kevin and the Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada's website can be found at http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/