Reason for hope in Eabametoong

Nothing could prepare me for what awaited my eyes.
Walking into that house in Eabametoong – it can’t be called a home anymore because it is uninhabitable – and seeing the devastation was more than my senses could take.
My eyes saw the charred remains of a home occupied until a few weeks ago by an elderly community member and his two grandchildren. They were able to vacate the home and survived the incident some called a “fire-bombing.”
My ears burned at hearing about the incident, wondering who would do such a thing, let alone risk the lives of the family.
Walking into the home, the smell of fire and smoke still lingers. As I look around, I see charred clothing, melted toys and other signs of family. I look down, only to realize I’m leaning against a cupboard. The black, charcoal stain on the hip of my jeans will serve as a reminder of my visit.
Seeing that house, in its present state, made the state of emergency, declared two weeks earlier by the First Nation, real to me for the first time.
It’s one thing to read a press release talking about arsons, prescription drug abuse and violence. It is quite another to walk through a house that was deliberately set on fire.
But, such is life in Eabametoong, I am told. Community members are trying to make the best of the situation. No one I spoke to talked about wanting to leave. Are they concerned about what is happening? Absolutely. But they have not given up on their community. Why would they?
For some, it is and forever will be home. For others, it is all they have ever known.
Yet others just want to stick it out.
Former chief Corny Nate told me it wasn’t always like this and it won’t continue to be.
He said prescription drugs have stolen parents away from their children and vice versa. Controlling the flow of prescription drugs into the community must be the first step in righting it, he tells me in the gymnasium of the John C. Yesno School, another of the buildings damaged during the yearlong arson spree.
I only had about four hours to spend in the community. I tried to make the most of it, walking and riding around and seeing first-hand what Eabametoong was like.
What I saw gave me hope.
There are several new buildings under construction. A new addition to the nursing station will more than double its size. Local construction crews are working on a new community centre, with a view of the lake.
At the airport terminal, a steam roller is humming along doing site preparation for a new Ministry of Transportation building.
I must commend Chief Lewis Nate on his approach to the situation in his community.
Rather than shut down the community and internalize, he has done the opposite in inviting dignitaries and media representatives from across the country into Eabametoong to show them what’s happening.
Even at the risk of having the community’s story played in a negative light, Nate has steadfastly said it is important for the rest of Ontario and Canada to see the dangers of prescription drug abuse and the other ills of his community.
Even an offensive headline (Fort Hopeless) in a regional newspaper prior to the media trip Nov. 4 didn’t sway Nate from opening the community.
Though I wish it was under better circumstances, I’m glad I was able to visit Eabametoong. It has given me more insight into the community.
Though it was short, it is not a trip I will soon forget.
I am still haunted by that house. I can picture the fire burning. I dream about being there as it happened. The day I returned home, I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. In my dream, a dog was barking, trying to get my attention and tell me there was danger. As I woke up my dog was barking.
I don’t know what spooked her but I didn’t sleep much after that.
I couldn’t get the image of that house out of my head.