Keynote Speakers:
Morning Keynote: Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
Afternoon Keynote: Chanthol Oung, Founder of the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Centre
Afternoon Keynote: Chanthol Oung, Founder of the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Centre
MORNING KEYNOTE: GRAND CHIEF STEWART PHILLIP, UNION OF B.C. INDIAN CHIEFS
The Navigating Borders Conference on October 12, 2012, kicked off at UBC Robson Square with a fascinating keynote by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. Drawing from his background as an Aboriginal person and leader living and growing up in B.C., as well as insights from his time in various leadership positions, the Grand Chief set the tone for a day of learning with regard to issues of poverty and migration, both locally and internationally.
The Grand Chief began by describing his cultural background as a combination of Salish, Squamish and Musqueam, and shared that he began his life in Penticton, B.C, as part of the Okanagan Nation. It is interesting to note that in the Native language, “Penticton” means “a place to live forever; a place to stay for all time.” After living in Penticton for less than a year, Mr. Phillip was taken away from his family, as a direct consequence of poverty. At that time, there were no tribal administration offices, and no real presence of organizations dedicated to Aboriginal affairs that could help with providing aid. Housing was also atrocious; tuberculosis was rampant, and both of the Grand Chief’s parents were infected. At that time, many First Nations were also quarantined.
As the policy at the time was to prohibit any contact with the birth family after being apprehended, the Grand Chief spent most of his childhood in Hedley, a small mining town in southern B.C. He then moved later on in his childhood, and spent most of his time growing up unclear as to who he was. Out of the 1000 students at his high school, only 3 were Aboriginal. Much of that has changed since then.
Later on after getting married, the Grand Chief finally had the chance to meet his biological father, who had come to look for him. The Grand Chief recounted it as a very strange experience, as brought up in the “white world”, he had learned that Aboriginals were “violent, drunk and lazy” - the opposite of what he saw of his father. Upon meeting his father, the Grand Chief felt a sense of pride, knowing, finally, that he was “real”. He spoke to his father for about 6 hours, during which time he learned about what an incredible and well-respected person his father was.
The first question the Grand Chief asked his father was, “What kind of Indian am I?” He recalled his father looking at him in a strange way, replying with the answer, “Okanagan”. His father then invited him to visit for 3 days, during which time the Chief met with many family members, all who were dressed for the occasion and ready to welcome him back into the family. They all took the time to explain to him who they were, in detail.
The Grand Chief chose to go home after that, and started to learn the true history of the indigenous people. He began to get more and more angry, as contrary to the lessons learned in high school about the savage land and courageous blue-eyed settlers, among other things, he learned about the real reasons for his life history so far. He realized that he had not known anything about racism, and the fact that the food security of Aboriginal peoples had essentially been taken away by force. The Chief has since spent the last 38 years involved in indigenous affairs.
His two wishes are for:
1. Sobriety among Aboriginal peoples, and
2. Post-secondary education for all First Nations
The Grand Chief explained that being denied access to resources, the once proud indigenous societies began to unravel, and was affected by many diseases, among other things. Political gatherings also had to be disguised as religious gatherings. The Chief also stated that the objective of residential schools was to “kill the Indian in the child”, and to do away with Aboriginal rights (because in reality, “the land today should belong to the Aboriginal people, as they were the first to ‘settle’ the land,” he said).
Not having the original land as a means for survival, migration to places like Penticton and Kelowna was triggered, leading to structural poverty; in fact, the Chief stressed that the poverty that resulted was all by design.
The Grand Chief stresses that Canada has an obsession with absorbing Aboriginal people, and this has been the policy from the beginning; he believes that the Harper government has been doing everything humanly possible to create assimilation. To this point, the Chief believes that “it is far too late for the colonizer to hope that Aboriginals will vanish”. His purpose on Earth, then, is to provide the guidance needed for the Aboriginals today to reclaim their identities. The Chief went on to state that the current values of capitalism are so destructive, that “if we continue down this path, we will all be in serious trouble; the only solution is Indigenous values - respect for all living things.”
In the end, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip closed with sharing 3 of his touchstones in life:
1. Conference of elders
2. Aboriginal women, and
3. Children
The Chief stated that indigenous women carry much of the burden of poverty, and have suffered most as a result of colonial consequences and government policies. “We’ve become too complacent,” he said.
AFTERNOON KEYNOTE: CHANTHOL OUNG, CO-FOUNDER OF THE CAMBODIAN WOMEN’S CRISIS CENTER AND CHAIRPERSON TO THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
Shanthol Oung is a Cambodian human rights advocate and co-funder of the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC), the first organization of its kind providing legal, educational, shelter, career and interventional services to victims of sex trafficking, rape and domestic violence in Phnom Penh. She also sits as the chairperson to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (NGO-CEDAW) for Cambodia and represents Cambodian civil society in many other areas in the international arena. She was nominated for a Nobel Prize and won its Asian equivalent, the Magsaysay Award in 2005. Ms. Oung holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Public Administration, and a Masters degree in International Human Rights Law. Currently, she is working for the Cambodian Association of America as a Program Coordinator for the Marriage Enrichment Program while she pursues a PhD at Walden University.
The 1993 government elections in Cambodia resulted in political instability reflected in massive killings, poverty and human trafficking throughout the country. Ms. Oung decided to work with young women in urban areas who were victims of violence and human trafficking. Most of these women came from rural areas and were unable to return to their homes. Those women were in most need of education, security and counseling. Ms. Oung requested the help of international organizations and the police to take these women back to their villages and to provide them with counseling services.
Furthermore, Ms. Oung started an education program to raise awareness about human trafficking. She asked victims to share their stories with the public and it took ten years to mobilize the civil society to try to stop human trafficking, rape and domestic violence.
Due to her education in Law and Human Rights, she was able to bring perpetrators and abusers to court. She also has helped Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian citizens to be repatriated. Ms. Oung explained that it is often difficult for immigrants to escape from violence in the new country where they reside because most of them have no education or money to return to their countries.
Understanding the need of education among Cambodians and immigrant children living in Cambodia, Ms. Oung launched a program that provided scholarships to one hundred girls who were not able to afford education.
Her struggle in addressing human trafficking has been to bring transgressors to justice due to the widespread corruption in Cambodia. Nonetheless, she believes that taking the initiative to do something about it is the first step for social change – “people will carry on with the responsibility to address those issues.”
Ms. Oung asserts that a) optimism is necessary for change and b) mobilization is crucial to find support and raise awareness about human rights issues.
Her recommendations are:
- To not confuse migration with human trafficking: “we cannot stop migration but we can stop human trafficking.”
- To network: “by networking people are able to find the services and resources they need.”
- Education is key: “people must know how to protect themselves.”
The 1993 government elections in Cambodia resulted in political instability reflected in massive killings, poverty and human trafficking throughout the country. Ms. Oung decided to work with young women in urban areas who were victims of violence and human trafficking. Most of these women came from rural areas and were unable to return to their homes. Those women were in most need of education, security and counseling. Ms. Oung requested the help of international organizations and the police to take these women back to their villages and to provide them with counseling services.
Furthermore, Ms. Oung started an education program to raise awareness about human trafficking. She asked victims to share their stories with the public and it took ten years to mobilize the civil society to try to stop human trafficking, rape and domestic violence.
Due to her education in Law and Human Rights, she was able to bring perpetrators and abusers to court. She also has helped Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian citizens to be repatriated. Ms. Oung explained that it is often difficult for immigrants to escape from violence in the new country where they reside because most of them have no education or money to return to their countries.
Understanding the need of education among Cambodians and immigrant children living in Cambodia, Ms. Oung launched a program that provided scholarships to one hundred girls who were not able to afford education.
Her struggle in addressing human trafficking has been to bring transgressors to justice due to the widespread corruption in Cambodia. Nonetheless, she believes that taking the initiative to do something about it is the first step for social change – “people will carry on with the responsibility to address those issues.”
Ms. Oung asserts that a) optimism is necessary for change and b) mobilization is crucial to find support and raise awareness about human rights issues.
Her recommendations are:
- To not confuse migration with human trafficking: “we cannot stop migration but we can stop human trafficking.”
- To network: “by networking people are able to find the services and resources they need.”
- Education is key: “people must know how to protect themselves.”