Dear Friends,

I am passing on a plea for assistance from my close friends and fellow activists Frank Martin and his wife Helen Michel both long-time Indigenous activists (Bella Bella and Carrier Nations) and freedom fighters who I first met during a Tribunal on Indian Residential School horrors and genocide in Canada that took place in Vancouver, B.C. where they were witnesses as they both had suffered horribly under the genocidal Indian Residential School system of Canada.

I can vouch for their honesty and integrity as I have seen them at work close-up over many years and can attest that they are honest, fearless, dedicated to the rights of all oppressed peoples not just Indigenous ones, and they have suffered horrible forms of repression by various police and other agencies in Canada.

I implore all people of conscience, please send them a note of support and any financial donations you are moved to give and able to give.

Here is their contact information:

Our contact address is: Frank Martin, Telquaa,Helen Michell. PO Box 806, 307 McPherson RD. Harrison Hot Springs B.C. Canada. V0M 1K0. telquaa@hotmail.com or1telquaa@gmail.com. Our home phone number is 604 796 9191. Thank you all.

frank helen has sent you a message.

Date: 11/05/2012

Subject: FW: Need help with indigenous human rights abuse of elders

On 11/05/12 12:45 PM, frank helen wrote:
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We have been attacked by the Chilliwack social services system, for the past few years now and we need assistance in many ways. We have been evicted from the Chilliwack Welfare office since March 10, 2010, and now we have to deal with the Chilliwack Salvation Army of which we cannot get any help from too. For the past two years now, we have been without a heating system, as our furnace broke down. Its been very cold. This past winter because of no heat, our kitchen has now been torn out. The water pipes have broken down, in the kitchen, and caused black mold, in our kitchen area and under our house. This in turn has caused us to get severly sick, and we are unable to get any help from anyone. We also had to deal with huge rats, living in our living space, this past summer. We had trapped 13 rats, all together. These rats also had eaten up most of our food, in our kitchen. This in turn, is the result of our getting sick from starvation and being malnourished.

There are three of us living in this home. OUr daughter who is our only care giver, was also denied social assistance for over five years. So, we all had to live on a $900.00 disability assistance, after all our bills are paid. Our daughter was finally put on social assistance this past few months, but even her financial needs are now being threatened to be taken away. This was one of the reasons why we were evicted from the Chilliwack welfare office.

The other reason why we were evicted, was because I am severely disabled and a parapalegic, according to my doctor. I really needed a new electric scooter, to help me to get around, and we tried to ask the welfare system to help me to get one. Even with all the prescriptions from our doctor, I was still denied a new electric scooter. Our disability came from a bad car accident that was enforced by the RCMP police of BC. WE were rammed and forced off the road between Cache Creek and Clinton B.C. This car accident left me dead for a half hour and than I went into a comma for six weeks, in the Kamloops hospital. I was paralized from the neck down, for such a long time after. Today, I still cannot get an electric scooter from the social services system. And so, I have to use up what disability assistance we have, to buy used electric scooters from Craigslist. Now I have about 7 or so, broken down scooters, laying in and around my house. This in turn has made us starve, to many times, over and over. as I have to use my food monies to buy used electric scooters.

Since we moved out to Harrison Hot Springs, from Vancouver BC, over 10 years ago, we have been under attack by the Chilliwack Royal Canadian Mounted Police also. They have taken away about five or so, vehicles away from us, and given us huge amounts of traffic violations tickets. We also had to take one of their officers to court, Constable Emond, for beating us up, on the highway. this constable dragged me off of my electric scooter, and threw me down on the ground, and kneed me on my back, and I was very sore for such a long time after. Before this happened, they had taken my husband away in another police car, after they had used the ‘sleeper’ arm hold, around his neck. Just about breaking his neck. Today his neck is still very, very sore and painful. When they took him away, I did not see him, sitting up, in the back of the police car. I thought they had killed him. I did not see my husband for a few days after that incident. I phoned the Chilliwack police station, and the hospital, and who ever I could, to try and find him. The police station said they did not have anyone with his name in custody, at all. He was never taken to the police station. What lies. Later on when I found my husband, he said he was in the chilliwack police station. As he was out and unconcious, the police had to call in the ambulance paramedics, to help the police to revive my husband, as they did not know if he was dead. After they used the arm hold on him.

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