Run Deep
September 12, 2012
Alicia Ashley , AVC 2013, travelled to Nain as one of the student participants on the Chinook Project. As part of the experience, the students craft various pieces of writing.
When I first heard about the Chinook project and spoke with students who had participated, I heard the words "life changing experience" thrown around quite a bit. However, after having been all over the U.S. and Canada, having done a six month backpacking trip through Central and South America, and a veterinary volunteer trip to Guatemala under my belt, I did not think that a trip up north, in my own country, would impact me as much as it did.
In general, the trip was a series of many different experiences and emotions that in the end, came together to give me a new sense of independence and confidence as well as very strong appreciation for my good fortune in life, and a new awareness of the hardships faced by isolated communities. However, the most impactful moments of the trip happened when Nain's turbulent and tragic history was personalized through stories from those who have and continue to suffer through it. The Chinook trip left a big mark on me, but in a stealthy way. The days, and even weeks following my return home, I wouldn't describe the trip as life changing. I had a lot of fun, was in awe of the landscape, was met with many challenges as well as new faces, and I certainly didn't get a lot of sleep. However, as time has passed and I have processed all that had happened during the relatively short adventure, I am now able to realize the magnitude of my experiences. So many aspects of the trip were rewarding as well as eye opening and humbling. I had the pleasure of meeting some incredibly kind people that devoted their lives to helping animals. I got to know my classmates and professor on a whole new level, and developed wonderful friendships and memories along the way. Together we were a well oiled, vaccinating, deworming, spaying and neutering machine. We worked long, hard days, helped over a hundred animals, got through some pretty tense moments and we laughed and danced (yes, danced) a lot.
While these experiences gave me confidence in my veterinary skills, as well as my ability to take on a leadership role and work in a group under some stressful circumstances, I must say that the most eye opening experience was seeing and hearing first hand some of the heart breaking struggles that the people of Nain were going through, and trying to rise above. It is no secret that Nain has a very dark history of alcohol and substance abuse as well as a high suicide rate. Unfortunately, these problems still plague Nain and on our first night we got a small taste of what it was like to grow up in the little town. The town's only bar was right next to where we were being housed and early in the evening a large crowd had congregated on the deck of the bar. The group of men and women were laughing, yelling, cursing, drinking and chain smoking. Most were so intoxicated that their slurred speech was incomprehensible and they were unable to stand. While this scenario may seem not so different from what you may find on a Friday night in front of a bar filled with college kids, there was another very important element to the story. A couple dozen children and teenagers of all ages were only a few meters away, hanging out by the building in which we were staying. It seemed that the outside of our building was the place to be if your parents were at the bar. After talking to a few of the kids, we gathered that they would stay there until their parents’ were ready to go home from the bar. They completely dominated the area, sitting on the stairs, the front yard, in the driveway or up on our roof, with a perfect view of all the drama going on next door.
On this first, mostly sleepless night we could hear the kids playing and talking on our roof. It was 3 am and the first light of day had begun to emerge from the horizon. This scenario repeated itself almost every night, and I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to grow up this way. I guess, this was just part of normal life for them. Even from just this little glimpse at one aspect of their lives, I could see why many people of Nain were struggling in an unhealthy situation, and why social issues can be common.
After leaving, Nain, we spent a night in Goose Bay. We decided that in honor of our successful clinic, celebratory drinks were in order and we made our way down to the local bar. It was here that we heard the heart wrenching story from a native woman in her mid 20's, who had grown up in Nain. When she learned that we had just come from there, she immediately expressed her disdain for the town. She very openly began to tell us about her parents who both committed suicide in Nain. As she pounded back her drink, she spoke about her new life in Goose Bay. She was deeply in love, with a man twice her age. She then proceeded to show us the scars from abuse he had left all over her body and then she counted the number of ribs he had broken.
The root of the problem of course runs very deep and originates from a time when Inuit families were forced to separate from one another and assimilate into a culture that was not their own. Years later, these damaged communities are trying to reconnect with their culture and identity by sticking together and finding their independence on traditional, native lands. This is obviously no easy feat, as jobs and opportunities are hard to come by in these isolated communities, and the wounds left by a tragic past obviously still run deep.
While my purpose in Nain was to help the animals who needed veterinary care and work on my veterinary skills, it was obvious to me that the people of this town were in great need of healing as well. The trip was bittersweet, and while I was happy to help so many animals and get to know the fantastic Chinook team, I was very saddened by the dark past and the suffering that goes on in this community. While my previous travels to impoverished countries have already served as a reminder not to take my good fortunes for granted, this trip reinforced my gratitude for the stable and healthy environment I have grown up in, and the opportunities I have been given.
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