Reena: A Father's Story

Can$29.95

The story of the Virk family is set against a tragic backdrop that remains one of the most widely discussed crimes of our time.

On the night of November 14, 1997, 14-year-old Reena Virk, a troubled Victoria high-school student, was swarmed and beaten by a group of teenagers and eventually killed. At the time, Reena's father Manjit, a soft-spoken, sensitive immigrant from the Punjab state of India, had already been let down by both social-services and law-enforcement authorities. He and his wife, Suman, had struggled with the challenges of conflicting cultures and religions, of family dissension and child-rearing ideologies, and with allegations of wrongdoing and the resulting tarnished reputations.

In the aftermath of Reena's murder, it was Suman who spoke for the family. Now, for the first time, Manjit tells his story, speaking from the heart about his life with Reena; the spiralling events that led to yet more angst and frustration for the family; his lingering concerns about a badly fractured social-support and legal system; and the faith that pulled him through the most trying times of his life.

Manjit Virk was born in the state of Punjab in northern India in 1956. He has a master's degree in English literature, and he immigrated to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1979. He has worked for 20 years for a Victoria-based manufacturer, in various capacities, and is a freelance interpreter and translator of the Punjabi and Hindi languages. He wrote this book to "set the record straight" and provide some hope to families going through difficult times raising their children.

Lynne Van Luven, associate professor in the Department of Writing at the University of Victoria, assisted Manjit with telling his story.


 

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