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Kangirsummiut resolve to end spree of violence

“The threat comes from members of their own extended families or spouses”

JANE GEORGE

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
On Oct. 24, Joseph Annahatak, who was re-elected mayor of Kangirsuk this week, marched with students and other concerned citizens around the community as a protest against violence. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE KATIVIK SCHOOL BOARD)

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Step-by-step, residents of Kangirsuk are taking a stand against violence in their community, by speaking out on local radio, and marching through the streets in a protest spearheaded by the local justice committee and the school on Oct. 24.

The recently re-elected mayor of Kangirsuk, Joseph Annahatak, who participated in the march against violence, received more than 75 per cent of the vote in last week’s municipal election, a strong vote of confidence in his leadership during these hard times.

But restoring peace and harmony in the community won’t be easy: Kangirsuk, population 450, has been rocked for months by a seemingly unending stream of tragic deaths and violent upheavals.

Annahatak did not want to comment yet on his plans for change in Kangirsuk.

But he’s already dealt with a lot during his last two years as mayor: the accidental drowning of his cousin, respected interpreter and translator Martha Kauki, and her family; the loss of two elders who fell through thin ice while traveling by snowmobile; a young boy who was frozen to death in a storm; and two young girls who were fatally injured in separate all-terrain vehicle accidents.

During recent months, an elder was raped, another was assaulted, and a group of youth, armed with two-by-fours and hockey sticks, threatened police, barricading them in their lodgings. These incidents are only the most outstanding in the growing list of sexual and other assaults.

One woman — one of many in Kangirsuk who spoke confidentially to Nunatsiaq News for this article — said she’s in shock, and that the current crisis feels like the plot from “a bad novel.” The reality is that she doesn’t feel safe anymore in her own community.

“The danger is omnipresent, and we must act quickly. The two recent attacks were brutal, and one could have been fatal. But the emotional impact is incalculable,” said a health worker in Kangirsuk.

Elders in Kangirsuk say times have changed for the worse: the young have no respect for their elders, they accept no rules or responsibility, not even for their own offspring; and they harass their parents for money for alcohol and drugs.

“Since this summer the violence has become intolerable. The threat comes from within, from members of their own extended families or spouses,” the health worker said.

This violence, “always associated with alcohol and drugs,” has its origins in deep emotional distress and the breakdown of the family and cultural values, reflects the health worker.

Many elders live in constant fear, and are harassed on the telephone.

“Because of their age and vulnerable physical condition, they cannot defend themselves and physical trauma has great consequences, even death.”

Despite their concern, many elders say they are too ashamed to discuss their violent children, who suffer from alcohol and drug problems.

Poverty may be an additional factor in the current social unrest, another resident suggests.

“We’re always told by Qallunaat we have everything, but we have nothing. We’re just trying to get by, to pay for our groceries. It’s hard on everybody,” she said. “We’re the Third World. We have sub-standard resources. It’s like another country.”

Middle-aged Kangirsummiut say they recall, with nostalgia, “the melody of peace” which once characterized the settlement, known then as Payne Bay. It was a place where violence was virtually unheard of. Back in those years, before radio was introduced, community members went to church with their children and shared food, while elders visited each other, without fear.

“These practices have disappeared in the everyday life of our community, they are gone, they’re just memories now,” says one resident.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to ensure school is a peaceful place for children who live in the present, and are deeply affected, say school staff, by any violence in the community. In September, Sautjuit School closed for a day, to hear ideas from parents, staff and municipal leaders about how to improve the atmosphere for students.

Now, there are more monitors in the school corridors, in the schoolyards and on the bus as well as increased communication with parents.

“We’ve put many measures in place, but there is still some friction and occasional violence, unfortunately. When something happens in the village, there are repercussions in the school, the kids are more agitated, and there are some more fights, but less than before: if it’s going well in the village, it goes well here, too,” said a school administrator

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