The Kissing Fence
Page 30
She watched from the door as Kelly waved goodbye. There was unsteadiness as they started out, but then, as if wind filled their sail, there was momentum, and they were off.
Author’s Note
This novel is dedicated to the Doukhobor people in Canada and especially the survivors of New Denver, British Columbia. They fled persecution in Russia and arrived in Canada in 1899 with the help of the Quakers and also Leo Tolstoy, who provided the proceeds of his novel Resurrection (1899) to help their journey. (See “The Hand of Tolstoy in Canada,” https://bit.ly/2D2E6GJ.)
The immigrants had accepted the certainty of an agreement with the Canadian minister of the interior, Clifford Sifton, that they were exempt from military service and would receive large blocks of land, in what would become Saskatchewan, where they could live according to their customs. They would not have come without this understanding. However, in 1905 the federal government changed. Frank Oliver replaced Sifton and disavowed the agreement, insisting that Doukhobors accept conventional citizenship, or the land would be taken from them. About two-thirds (five thousand) could not accept this and migrated to southeast BC, abandoning farms, brick factories, mills and homes. It was the first major schism among these people in Canada. The second was the emergence of the Sons of Freedom, who were determined to be true to their beliefs and the original agreement with Canada, and fought to persuade other Doukhobors to do the same.
From 1953 to 1959 about two hundred children of the Sons of Freedom were taken from their families and confined in a repurposed sanatorium in New Denver, BC. Life was never the same for them, and the impact on their children and community continues to this day. (See “The Doukhobors in Canada from 1953: The New Denver History and Background,” https://bit.ly/2D24EYO.)
However, this book is not simply about the Doukhobors or Sons of Freedom. It is a story of how we become what we are, from generations ago—how our sense of self and place in the world is corrupted with the destruction of lineage and continuity. We see this plainly enough among displaced peoples and Indigenous cultures around the world, but it is true of all of us. If we look carefully we can find that thread, drawn through years, decades and generations before us, which influences the choices we make every day.
I hope this book may raise again the issue of reconciliation between the people of Canada and British Columbia on one side and Doukhobors on the other, especially the New Denver survivors. The original wrong, in Canada and BC, has been the treatment of the Doukhobor people as a whole. The tension between the Sons of Freedom and the Orthodox Doukhobors is a painful distraction from the first truth of this injustice. Saying this does not diminish the hurt experienced by the New Denver children, but it would never have happened without the original betrayal of all the Doukhobor people in Canada and BC.
While the Doukhobor people now live easily and productively in Canada, the legacy of the past stays with them. They still wait for an appropriate response from the BC and Canadian governments. Every child knows how this must begin: you must say sorry for the wrong that has been done.
Photo by Jacqueline Massey
About the Author
B.A. Thomas-Peter is Canadian but lived in the UK as a teenager and eventually trained there as a Clinical Psychologist. His work focused on providing help to children, adults with mental health difficulties and the families of the elderly in need of care, before moving into the field of forensic psychiatry. He spent eleven years as Honorary Professor of Psychology at Birmingham University before moving to Oxford as Director of the Regional Forensic Psychiatry service. In 2010 he returned to Canada as Provincial Executive Director of Forensic Psychiatry for BC.
Thomas-Peter has published in many anthologies and peer-reviewed journals. He has been a regular contributor to international academic conferences and has contributed to the development of the Forensic Psychology profession in Australia and the UK. He currently lives on an island on the west coast of Canada, runs a small consultancy and spends most of his time writing.