Fresh Take on the Sainte-Rose Daycare Tragedy: A Whirlwind of Emotions
Times lack a defined cause occasionally
Let's face it. Emotions often run high when I'm reading the news. Columns can stir up some sensitive feelings, leaving you with a lump in your throat. But facts-based articles? Not so much.
Until last week, when I came across Mayssa Ferah's piece.
My colleague reported on the heart-wrenching testimonies of the family members affected by the tragic incident that occurred at a daycare in Sainte-Rose on February 8, 2023. A distraught man, driven by psychosis, crashed his bus into the daycare, resulting in the tragic deaths of two children and injuries to six others.
"Jacob, my little kitty, I miss you so dearly," Marie-Soleil Cloutier, Jacob's heartbroken mother, declared.
Maeva, the other cherished life lost, was fondly remembered as a "monkey," a little girl full of life by her father. Her older brother described February 8, 2023, as the darkest day of his life, and a family that now sheds tears all too often.
A father, who valiantly subdued the attacker, Ny St-Amand, described the day as the most significant event of his life—even more profound than the birth of his own children. An educator had to leave her dream job, traumatized, like many others who witnessed the horrific scene.
The judge himself was touched. The accused's lawyer wept. The public passed around a box of tissues. If I had been there, I would have needed a box myself. Or two.
What left a lasting mark on me were the children's affectionate nicknames...
Monkey, kitty.
We all tend to give our little ones endearing nicknames, don't we?
Mine is still Chicken, though he's not little anymore—he'll always be my little Chicken to me.
When tragedy strikes, we seek answers. When a senseless act of violence occurs, we try to uncover the dark corners of the human psyche.
When a bridge collapses or a plane crashes, we investigate the cause—the structural flaws, the equipment failure, or human error.
When an individual, consumed by psychosis, lashes out, we try to understand the triggers, the underlying causes. We question the system that failed to detect and prevent such heinous acts.
Most tragedies can be traced back to a reason, a cause, a loose bolt in the system. Society learns, adjusts, and grows stronger. But sometimes...
Sometimes, nothing makes sense.
There's no reason, no rhyme, no reason, and that's the hardest pill to swallow.
To borrow Albert Camus's words, "The absurd is the lucid mind that recognizes its limits."
We search for a motive, a logic, an explanation for this man to plow his bus into a daycare on a sunny February morning.
But there's no explanation.
Here's a man who had no prior record, no hospitalizations. He struggled with the ghosts of his childhood, the demons of a refugee—just like millions of other trauma survivors who will never commit such a heinous act.
How could he have been detected?
I've attempted to unravel the mystery, followed the trail of the tragedy, spoken to the parents of the injured children, to Jacob's parents—I don't see how this man, Pierre Ny St-Amand, could have been detected as a ticking time bomb by the system.
I say this with a heavy heart—and the utmost gratitude: I have my child with me.
I may not agree with all the anger of the families affected by this senseless act of violence. But I must admit the anger, the frustration, the despair—it's all justified. The anger of not being heard, not being understood.
Once more, I find myself left with the same word: absurd.
1. Read the unsaid: "I'm the victim, not my victimizer."
[1] Sainte-Rose Daycare Tragedy: A Tragic Incident in Quebec, Canada (CBC News, 2023) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/sainte-rose-daycare-tragedy-1.6384335
- In the aftermath of the Sainte-Rose Daycare Tragedy, the victims' families expressed anger and frustration that couldn't be contained, and rightfully so.
- The tragic event that unfolded on February 8, 2023, at a daycare in Sainte-Rose, Quebec, left many questioning the principle of justice, particularly when unpredictable acts like car-accidents occur.
- Despite the numerous feelings stirred by reading general-news articles, it's the heart-wrenching stories of tragedy that often remain etched in our minds, such as the tale of Marie-Soleil Cloutier's beloved son, Jacob, and Maeva's family's ongoing sorrow.
- The column about the Sainte-Rose Daycare Tragedy, penned by Mayssa Ferah, brought to light the impact of accidents like these not only on the direct victims but also on the broader community, such as educators who were traumatized by the event.
- As a society, we must continue to investigate the causes of tragedies, such as crime-and-justice incidents or car-accidents, to ensure a future where principles like justice can be upheld and tragedies like the Sainte-Rose Daycare Tragedy can be prevented.
