Walk for Justice makes local stop, continues march toward Ottawa

An act of violence took Leona Keesic’s 19-year-old-daughter Charity away from her 10 years ago.

“She was raped and murdered in my home community,” The 55-year-old grandmother from Moose Factory, Ont. said.

“She went out one night and never came home. I was in shock for a while. It has been 10 years now and I still go through those emotions but they happen less frequently. It’s not as painful as it was.”

The man responsible received a seven-year sentence for her daughter’s death.

Keesic keeps busy on special occasions such as Charity’s birthday because those days are the hardest, she said.  

“She had a son that wasn’t even two-years-old yet,” she said. “She was a good mom, smart and was trying to finish high school.”

Keesic joined about 20 other people for the Walk-4-Justice march to raise awareness for missing and murdered Aboriginal women on Saturday.

They walked from Vickers Park to City Hall in order to meet a group of seven Aboriginal men and women on their way from Vancouver to Ottawa to hold a rally for those missing and murdered women.

Keesic said being a part of the walk helped her heal because she knew that other families have gone through the same tragedy as her.

“After my daughter’s death I didn’t have anything like this,” she said. “I kind of had to struggle through it. When I take part in activities like this, I know strength comes in numbers. Even though you don’t know anyone personally at least you know you aren’t alone. All these women go missing and it is like no one cares but when you see this then you know someone cares.”

Gladys Radek, co-founder of Walk-4-Justice, said they wanted to send a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that there needed to be more protection for Aboriginal women.

Radek joined the movement after her 22-year-old-niece Tamara Chipman went missing near Prince Rupert in 2005 and helped organize the first walk in 2008.  

 “We need proper safety public safety measures,” Radek said. “We are calling for a national public inquiry because this is a national problem. It is time for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to step up to the plate and start further protecting our women.”

She said Harper wouldn’t have any choice but to listen to them because they are united across the country in their message to stop violence against women.

The group plans to arrive in Ottawa on Sept. 17 and hold the rally on Parliament Hill on Sept. 19. 




--- Follow Jeff Labine on Twitter: @Labine_reporter