Polish Reporters: The Vicious Circle of Violence

Canadian residential schools where the children of indigenous peoples ended up despite their parents’ wishes were one of the few themes that grabbed European and public attention last year alongside the Covid-19 pandemic. The Polish journalist Joanna Gierak-Onoszko lived in Canada for two years and explored that very subject. The book The 27 Deaths of Toby Obed, which has come out in Czech translated by Tadeáš Dohňanský on the Abysnt imprint, succeeds in going far deeper than the shocking news stories. The author spoke with survivors, as she calls the children who passed through the schools, as well as historians, journalists and activists focused on family issues and violence against women. Her book of reporting is above all a study of a vicious circle: If we encounter injustice and cruelty in childhood, it is difficult not to pass it on. The subject has also been a major challenge to Canadian politicians, who have gradually sought a way to symbolically accept responsibility for past wrongs and present-day traumas.