An article about Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's new film "Highway of Tears" appeared the "The Province" a daily newspaper in Vancouver on June 26th 2006:
Documentary tackles highway mystery
Journalist's 22-minute feature examines murders and disappearances
Raina Delisle
The Province
Monday, June 26, 2006
A disheartening documentary film about aboriginal women who have
vanished or been murdered along the Highway of Tears in northern B.C.
underlines the native community's frustrations with the RCMP probe.
Distraught relatives of the woman make accusations of racism and police
inaction in the 22-minute feature, which premieres on Al-Jazeera
International next month.
Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, 27, spent two weeks in April visiting
the families of women who have been victimized along Highway 16 between
Prince George and Prince Rupert.
The acclaimed journalist drove the highway with its victims' families.
She saw several hitchhikers and was told by the families that many
physical and sexual assaults along the highway go unreported. "The
aboriginal community distrusts the RCMP," said Obaid.
"We wish the police would do something," Sally Gibson told her in the
film. "It seems to us that nobody is doing anything. Nobody."
Gibson's niece, Lana Derrick, vanished in 1995 when she was 19.
"She just disappeared like she was a nobody," Gibson said.
Obaid said one of the most emotional moments of her visit was going to
the grave of Ramona Wilson on Easter with the slain teen's mother,
Matilda Wilson.
A kitten appeared at the grave and Wilson took it as a sign that Ramona
was very happy that her story was being told, Obaid said.
"There were sometimes that I couldn't cope, I thought of suicide quite a
bit to end everything," said a tearful Wilson, who showed Obaid the
wooded area where Ramona's body was found.
In January, Obaid read a news story about the Highway of Tears, and an
Amnesty International report estimating more than 30 women have vanished
or been killed along the 724-kilometre highway.
The RCMP confirms four murders and five disappearances linked to the
Highway of Tears. Only one of those women is non-native.
A sweeping report released last week by a coalition of native groups
urges better communication between the RCMP and aboriginals and calls
for a full probe into the disappearances. "It struck me that in a
country like Canada something like this is happening and there isn't an
uproar about it," said Obaid, who is based in Toronto.
Obaid said many people outside of B.C. don't know about the Highway of
Tears and will be stunned by what she discovered.
She pitched the story to Al-Jazeera International, an English-language
news and current-affairs channel based in Qatar, and the network got on
board right away.
RCMP Staff-Sgt. John Ward answers questions about the investigation at
the end of the film. He dismissed allegations of racism and said the
families are satisfied with the police work.
Ward said cases along Highway 16 are hard to solve, "because it's a very
rugged, rural area. Witnesses are non-existent in most cases."
Documentary tackles highway mystery
Journalist's 22-minute feature examines murders and disappearances
Raina Delisle
The Province
Monday, June 26, 2006
A disheartening documentary film about aboriginal women who have
vanished or been murdered along the Highway of Tears in northern B.C.
underlines the native community's frustrations with the RCMP probe.
Distraught relatives of the woman make accusations of racism and police
inaction in the 22-minute feature, which premieres on Al-Jazeera
International next month.
Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, 27, spent two weeks in April visiting
the families of women who have been victimized along Highway 16 between
Prince George and Prince Rupert.
The acclaimed journalist drove the highway with its victims' families.
She saw several hitchhikers and was told by the families that many
physical and sexual assaults along the highway go unreported. "The
aboriginal community distrusts the RCMP," said Obaid.
"We wish the police would do something," Sally Gibson told her in the
film. "It seems to us that nobody is doing anything. Nobody."
Gibson's niece, Lana Derrick, vanished in 1995 when she was 19.
"She just disappeared like she was a nobody," Gibson said.
Obaid said one of the most emotional moments of her visit was going to
the grave of Ramona Wilson on Easter with the slain teen's mother,
Matilda Wilson.
A kitten appeared at the grave and Wilson took it as a sign that Ramona
was very happy that her story was being told, Obaid said.
"There were sometimes that I couldn't cope, I thought of suicide quite a
bit to end everything," said a tearful Wilson, who showed Obaid the
wooded area where Ramona's body was found.
In January, Obaid read a news story about the Highway of Tears, and an
Amnesty International report estimating more than 30 women have vanished
or been killed along the 724-kilometre highway.
The RCMP confirms four murders and five disappearances linked to the
Highway of Tears. Only one of those women is non-native.
A sweeping report released last week by a coalition of native groups
urges better communication between the RCMP and aboriginals and calls
for a full probe into the disappearances. "It struck me that in a
country like Canada something like this is happening and there isn't an
uproar about it," said Obaid, who is based in Toronto.
Obaid said many people outside of B.C. don't know about the Highway of
Tears and will be stunned by what she discovered.
She pitched the story to Al-Jazeera International, an English-language
news and current-affairs channel based in Qatar, and the network got on
board right away.
RCMP Staff-Sgt. John Ward answers questions about the investigation at
the end of the film. He dismissed allegations of racism and said the
families are satisfied with the police work.
Ward said cases along Highway 16 are hard to solve, "because it's a very
rugged, rural area. Witnesses are non-existent in most cases."
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