近日，加拿大一个被埋藏了几十年的“惊人秘密”重见天日…… 据加拿大媒体5月28日报道，215具原住民儿童遗骸在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省坎卢普斯市一所原住民寄宿学校旧址地下被发现。更令人发指的是，其中年纪最小者仅为3岁，而这些失踪的孩童并没有被登记为死亡人员。据悉，这些儿童是“坎卢普斯印第安寄宿学校”的学生。该学校是加拿大在19世纪末建立的原住民寄宿学校中较大的一所，于1978年关闭。报道称，此次事件并非孤立事件，加拿大在过去兴建诸多寄宿学校，孩子们在寄宿学校内被禁止使用本族语言或沿袭其部族文化，以此来强制“同化”原住民。据不完全统计，超过15万名原住民儿童被带离社区、送入寄宿学校，他们的家人往往不知孩子的最终下落。数万孩童在寄宿学校内遭到性侵、虐待、体罚及严重歧视等，亦有大批孩子死亡。直至1996年，加拿大才关闭了最后一所原住民儿童寄宿学校。此消息一出震惊世界，有网友表示：这是种族灭绝！“（对此）真的无话可说。”“种族灭绝！”也有网友表示心碎：“这是最悲哀的事情。”“非常伤心。” “这太可怕了，太可悲了！” The remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were found at the site of a former residential school for indigenous children, Canadian media reported on May 28.The children were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. The residential school was one of the largest residential schools from 1890 until 1969, when the federal government took over the school's administration before its closing in 1978.Canada's residential school system, which forcibly separated indigenous children from their families, constituted "cultural genocide," a six-year investigation into the now-defunct system found in 2015.An estimated 150,000 indigenous children across Canada were reportedly removed from their homes and forced to attend residential schools between the 1890s and as recently as 1996.This news shocked the world. Some netizens said: "This is genocide!’’ 事件曝光后，加拿大媒体要求追查原住民儿童死亡全部真相，并要求有关部门对原住民施行暴力和种族灭绝行为做出深刻反省。加拿大各地民众也以不同形式哀悼215名不幸的孩童，人们以放置215双童鞋或玩具，以及献上鲜花、留言卡等方式进行哀悼。甚至数万人在网上发起倡议，要求加拿大政府设立全国法定日来悼念这些儿童。
5月30日，加拿大总理特鲁多着令所有联邦机构建筑物降半旗志哀。渥太华、多伦多等城市宣布降半旗215小时，即9天时间。5月31日，加拿大总理特鲁多就一所原住民寄宿学校旧址发现215具儿童遗骸一事表态，称这并非孤立事件。6月1日，特鲁特再次表示歉意并承诺将向原住民社区提供赔偿。他表示:“对过去的悲剧道歉是不够的，对死去的儿童、对家属、对幸存者和社区都是不够的。”People across the country also paid tribute to the 215 children by placing 215 pairs of children's shoes or toys and laying flowers and cards.Tens of thousands of people have even launched an online campaign to ask the Canadian government to set up a National Day of mourning for the children.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked on May 30 that flags at all federal buildings be flown at half-staff to honor more than 200 children.At a news conference on May 31, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised "concrete action" to support residential school survivors and their families.Last week's find "is not an exception or an isolated incident," he noted. "Residential schools were a reality... and we have to own up to it."Trudeau apologized again and promised to pay compensation to the indigenous community on June 1. However, he said：" Saying sorry for the tragedies of the past is not enough, is not enough for the children who died, for the families or for the survivors and communities." 对于特鲁多的多次道歉，原住民似乎并不“买账”。6月5日，加拿大萨斯喀彻温省原住民梅蒂人组织前主席罗伯特·杜塞特在加拿大广播公司网站上发表文章，指责加拿大政府在对待原住民问题上态度虚伪。作为寄宿学校的幸存者，今年60岁的杜塞特说，在原住民中间，人们“悄无声息地”谈论着失踪儿童的下落。在原住民寄宿学校旧址发现原住民儿童遗骸“只是冰山一角”，“整个冰山，正在漂浮出来。加拿大人还没有准备好迎接即将到来的一切”。 杜塞特在文章中质问：“如果加拿大和其他国家的政府积极起诉在他国谋杀土著居民的人，那为什么加拿大联邦和省政府没有对在这里虐待、伤害和谋杀原住民儿童的个人和组织采取同样的行动？” 杜塞特表示，让原住民再次讲述自己遭受肉体和精神以及性虐待、与家人分离的悲惨历史，是重新撕开自己的心理创伤，令人痛心扼腕。 他还指出，对于加拿大政府领导人有关原住民悲惨历史和现实问题的习惯性装腔作势，原住民感到厌恶。他希望政府早日着手解决种族主义问题。
Robert Doucette, the former president of the Métis Nation — Saskatchewan, accused the Canadian government of hypocrisy in its treatment of aboriginal peoples in an article published on the CBC website, June 5. 推荐阅读：数观 | 疫情下的高考高考延期 | 见证历史？不如创造历史