Written by FRANK PEEBLES
Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 03 June 2008 |
Gladys Radek, who lost a niece to the Highway of Tears, is marching her concerns right to the prime minister's front door. She is bringing hundreds of friends with her and hopes for thousands of signatures along the way.
She launched the Walk4Justice to draw attention to all the missing and murdered women not only in the Highway of Tears file but many others besides.
The Walk4Justice begins on National Aboriginal Day June 21.
"The Highway of Tears march to Prince George and the symposium there was the kicker," Radek said. "I felt that something more needed to be done because ever since the Highway of Tears walk (March 2006) virtually nothing has happened. No new leads after four decades of missing women. The numbers of victims out there are not matching the RCMP's list. We want people to realize that these women, when they go missing, are also leaving behind children and we want those children to know that we care, as a society, what happened to their mothers and we will look after them."
Radek has been a social activist in the Vancouver area for about 15 years, although she was raised a member of the Wet'sewet'en nation in northern B.C. She is the aunt of Tamara Chipman, 22, who disappeared while hitchhiking east of Prince Rupert on Sept. 21, 2005. Chipman's young son Jaden plays a large role in Radek's activities now.
We want these women and children to have a voice," Radek said.
Radek said the march is intended to push Canadians, especially those in government, to set up safeguards against violence against women, put more mechanisms of transparency and accountability for authorities into place, and overhaul the justice system, among other goals.
"In my heart I know these women will get some justice, some closure," Radek said, but insisted that those named in the official RCMP investigation were only a fraction of the real death toll. "We are gathering names of victims through each province so we can present the truer number to the prime minister."
Radek is leading the march from Vancouver to Kamloops, to Jasper, east to Edmonton then south to Calgary and east to Parliament Hill, where they have a ceremony scheduled for Sept. 15.
"We already have over 1,000 people nationwide communicating over this," Radek said. "Since I started organizing this in January I have learned that we do have a very caring society."
Many events are already planned for along the way. Several residents of the Highway of Tears - generally located on Highway 16 between the coast and the Cariboo - will meet with the walkers on Kamloops. Radek also hopes that northern contacts might be willing to organize an associated walk along the Highway of Tears and meet up with them at Mount Robson on June 30.
For information on the march and how to donate or volunteer, log on to www.walk4justice.piczo.com. To sign the petition destined for Prime Minister Stephen Harper log on to www.petitiononline.com, click the International Politics and Government button and scroll down to First Nations Missing and Murdered Women heading.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
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