“I'm not letting that happen”: Georges-Hervé Awashish's last appeal to justice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJr5icVY0Ko&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=LACONVERSE

Georges-Hervé Awashish, aged 53, was admitted to Chicoutimi hospital because he had several health problems requiring specialized care. From his hospital room, he wanted to tell us about his experience. Two days after the death of Joyce Echaquan, the Atikamekw man from Obedjiwan said he heard hospital nurses make death threats against him.

On the night of September 30, around 3 am, Georges-Hervé got up to go to the bathroom. When he returned to his room on the fourth floor, he heard the staff talking in the corridor. “They were talking about Manawan, Mr. Echaquan, and then it was laughing,” he said. Upset, Mr. Awashish did not say a word in his room, which was near the nurses' office.

He sits in his wheelchair. “After that, I heard one of the nurses say, “We have one, we have an Indian one here, lying in the room.” And then another one says: “We should inject him with a toxic product, and then his problem will be solved, it no longer works the same.” After that, they went off laughing. It was laughing in the corridor,” he told us. “Well, I'm sure I won't let that happen, threats the same way.

I don't want that to happen to other patients. I am having a hard time finding words again. I am experiencing a lot of anxiety... It's really, really disappointing what they said, I find it very disappointing.” — Georges-Hervé Awashish

‍

“Sleep well, dad.”

‍

A few hours before he died, on October 11, around 4 am, Georges-Hervé wrote to his son, Shawnok, to inform him that he had asked for sedatives. “I'm going to go back to bed, I asked for sedatives. Take care of yourself, OK son... Thank you so much for being there,” he wrote to him via Messenger. “Sleep well, dad [...] I'll always be there for you.”

This was their last exchange. In an email sent to La Converse, the Chicoutimi Hospital states that it does not comment on the health condition of its patients and that the conclusion of an external investigation into the allegations made in this case will be presented in a few days. The hospital is also investigating the causes of Mr. Awashish's death.

“We are surprised because he had to be transferred to the Roberval hospital, because his health condition had improved,” explains Mélanie Boivin, director of the Lac-Saint-Jean Native Friendship Center. The deceased's sister, Louisette Awashish, spoke to her brother the day before he died.

“He told me that he had to leave this hospital [...] He was fine, he was laughing and he told me to come and visit him on Sunday morning,” she said. The family does not want to jump to conclusions and is waiting impatiently for the investigation and autopsy reports. Louisette Awashish wants to consult all of her brother's medical reports, from the time he entered the hospital until he died.

Georges-Hervé Awashish was exhibited in Roberval on Monday, October 19. He will then be exhibited in his home town of Obedjiwan. His funeral will be held on 22 October. The family is collecting donations to pay for funeral expenses.