Girl brainwashed to hate, says aunt

WINNIPEG — It took nearly a week of vigorous scrubbing to get the white supremacist markings off her body. But it has taken much longer to erase the emotional damage done to an eight-year-old girl and her younger brother at the centre of a high-profile child custody battle, her aunt told court Thursday.

The aunt -- who can't be named under Manitoba law -- fought back tears as she described how she and her husband agreed to become foster parents to her niece and the girl's three-year-old brother. The two children were apprehended by Child and Family Services in March 2008 based on concerns they were being mentally abused and neglected because of their parent's racist beliefs.

"Depending on who you talk to, we're either saints or fools," the aunt testified Thursday, noting she has delayed retirement to take on the task of foster parenting. CFS is now fighting to get a permanent order of guardianship for the children. The trial began last week and will continue Friday before taking a break until the final week of June.

The investigation began after the girl showed up at her Winnipeg elementary school with several neo-Nazi markings her mother had put on her body, including a swastika and references to Hitler. Her aunt described Thursday trying to wash the hate off her niece in the bathtub every night for a week.

"I remember she said to me, 'Oh Auntie, can you believe that my mom is saying I wrote these things on myself'," she told court. The woman also recalled an alarming conversation months earlier with her niece.

"She said 'You know, Auntie, we don't like black people.' I asked her why.

"She said, 'Because they hurt people, they steal things, they hurt children'," she said. The girl also began talking about seeing her mother and stepfather drinking and partying with several strangers in the home. She even described how they brought a snake into the house.

The aunt said she knew the girl's mother and stepfather were "white supremacists" because she used to see Nazi flags hanging in the family's home. But she never realized the extent of what the children were being exposed to.

"I was absolutely flabbergasted. I certainly was not expecting this," she said.

The woman has had a relationship with her niece since birth, describing how she was "shocked" to learn her brother had impregnated a woman less than half his age. She discussed her brother's notorious past, which includes several brushes with the law and long-standing drug and alcohol addictions, and his non-existent role in his daughter's life.

She said the girl's mother began to change after ending her relationship with her brother, meeting a man over the Internet in 2004 and then quickly marrying him and moving out of Winnipeg without her daughter for several months in early 2005. The girl spent much of that time living with her grandmother and aunt.

"(The little girl's) heart was broken. She cried every night, and just sobbed for her mother. It was a very sad time. Bedtime was just awful," said the aunt.

The mother eventually returned to Winnipeg with her husband, announcing she was pregnant. She later gave birth to the young boy now involved in the dispute. The aunt told court Thursday he was clearly developmentally delayed when coming into her care 15 months ago -- but said there has been a dramatic shift in both children since that time. The girl was often dirty, unkept and "looked like a waif," she said.

"The change was, and continues to be, phenomenal," she said. The children are making new friends of all different races, doing well in school and daycare and happy to be in a loving, stable environment, she said.

The aunt said she believes strongly in "family unification" but said she and her husband are prepared to do everything they can to help the children, including taking them on permanently if that's what the court rules.

"You just can't imagine the impact on us, thinking what (the girl) has gone through. She tells me, 'Oh Auntie, I'm just so glad we came to your house'," she said.

"We love them and we want what's best. You live a day at a time, a moment at a time. And we're doing well with that."

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 5, 2009 A5