Reena Virk Essay

One evening the tragedy was struck with the gruesome murder of a 14-year-old girl named Reena Virk. Reena was the oldest of three children in her family. Her mother, Suman, and her father, Manjit, were Indian immigrants and Jehovah's Witnesses. Suman and Manjit raised Reena in a very strict and religious household, and they did everything they could to provide their kids with a good life and future. Reena grew up in a predominantly upper-class white neighbourhood, and since Reena was Indian, she would be bullied about her appearance and race when she went to school with her predominantly white peers. The bullying leads to her moving to Burnside Elementary School to get a "fresh start" from the bullying. Over time, the family saw a change.

Her desire for freedom led to her downfall and her death when on the evening of November 14, 1997, she was invited to a party by her friends near a bridge called the Craigflower Bridge in British Columbia. The group of teens was smoking and drinking, and then Reena was swarmed by a group of teenagers called the Shoreline 6, who abused her by burning cigarettes on her face and body and drowning Reena. The murder of Reena Virk brought a lot of press attention from all over the country but also brought much attention to bullying in general since there will be future documentaries and movies talking about the tragic murder, such as Under the Bridge, which is an upcoming American actual crime show about the novel from Rebecca Godfrey which is about the murder of Reena Virk. It will premiere on Hulu in 2023.The show will bring awareness to the deeper meaning of the murder and on troubled teens but also racism since she was murdered for being Indian compared to her white peers. The parents of Reena Virk, after her death, created an anti-bullying campaigner and

In 2012, the provincial government announced a $2 million, 10-point strategy to stop bullying among teenagers called the ERASE program, which means Expect, Respect and A Safe Education. The death of Reena Virk was a horrible tragedy, but it opened the eyes of all Canadians and parents about bullying and racism. In my opinion, the murder of Reena Virk involved numerous factors, including being exposed to drugs and alcohol at a young age by her friends and her family's controlling, strict religious upbringing. Reena's parents had a unique bringing for Reena compared to her peers, and they were extremely strict with Reena, and she rebelled against her parents to have the social life she wanted. The motives for the murder were racial but also hatred towards Reena's murder. When you look at Reena, you do not see Eurocentric beauty; instead, you see her Indian beauty, which in a predominantly white area would be considered unappealing, especially to young white girls. Reena, being Indian, made it extremely easy for her peers to bully her since she was visually different. The autopsy showed that they stubbed cigarettes on Reena's forehead and hit and punched her. They also tried to