Parents thought minorities 'should be killed,' Manitoba girl told police
June 5, 2009 - 20:14
Steve Lambert, THE CANADIAN PRESS
WINNIPEG - A young girl in a bright pink jacket and multi-coloured socks playfully squirms around on a couch, sometimes humming to herself, sometimes making funny faces in the mirror.
The words that she utters, however, stand in stark contrast to her impish demeanour.
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"It means Hi Hitler or Hail Hitler" she says, pointing to markings on her skin.
The girl is at the centre of a custody battle, and her statement is part of a 40-minute videotaped police interview recorded the day she and her younger brother were seized from her parents in March 2008.
Authorities moved in after the girl showed up at her elementary school with racist symbols and slogans drawn on her body in permanent marker.
The video is the first time a Winnipeg court, which is deciding whether to grant the province permanent custody of the girl and her younger brother, has heard directly from either child.
The recording shows an investigator trying to learn about the girl's home life and asks her what her parents think of people who are not white.
"They think they should be killed or go back to their country," the girl replies matter-of-factly.
The girl uses racial slurs to refer to people from Pakistan and China, and says she is worried about them.
"Some people from Pakistan, they carry AIDS ... and they could kill you."
She adds that her parents think Hitler was a "good but bad man" and that her parents supported the fact that Hitler killed many people. Pressed gently on her own beliefs, she says she doesn't believe minorities should be killed, but thinks they should leave Canada.
"Not kill, but go back to your own country."
The girl's language may have surprised police investigators, but it pales in comparison to what social workers and some relatives have already told the court.
One social worker testified the girl calmly described how black people should be killed with a ball and chain. Two workers testified the girl told them she had been exposed to violent racist videos and frequently used the word ". .. .. .. .. .. ." and other slurs.
The children's mother denies teaching them to hate minorities, and accuses social workers of feeding words to her children. The mother has not participated in the custody hearing. She now lives out of province and is hoping to make it to court when the hearing continues at the end of June.
The girl's stepfather, who is also the biological father of the boy, is arguing he has a constitutional right to teach his views to his children. In an affidavit, the man says the seizure of the children violates his freedom of expression and belief.
No one involved in the case can be identified under Manitoba law.
The alleged racism is not the only reason child welfare workers seized the children. They also allege the children were often neglected and lived in ****** homes. The children are currently staying with extended family members.
Parents thought minorities 'should be killed,' Manitoba girl told police
