The ninth chapter of  A Human Rights Odyssey  takes place in the Canadian cities of Winnipeg and Regina. I portray Tina Fontaine, an actual person, as the "little match girl on the prairie" to serve as a poignant symbol of innocence, abandonment, and systemic neglect. 

The comparison draws on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairytale, The Little Match Girl, 
to emphasize the following themes: 

• Systemic Tragedy: By framing Fontaine through this literary lens, I highlight her status as a victim of a society that failed to protect its most vulnerable. Just as the match girl was left to perish in the cold while others celebrated, Fontaine’s death in August 2014 serves as a "senseless tragedy" that reflects the ongoing hardships of First Nations communities in the Canadian prairies.
• A "Moral Call to Action": In the novel, the murder of Fontaine (alongside the shooting of Michael Brown) acts as a catalyst for the protagonist, Rabbi Isaac Levin, to reflect on his lifelong pursuit of social justice. I use this imagery to move the reader beyond statistics and into a deep emotional awareness of the human cost of prejudice.
• Contrast of Hope and Reality: The metaphor contrasts the "warmth" of the protagonist’s realized dream—an interfaith community center in Manhattan—with the "cold" reality of violence against Indigenous people. 

• A Human Rights Odyssey: From Dreams Deferred to ...* It is August 2014. Rabbi Isaac Levin's dream has been realized. Rodef Tzedek synagogue has provided a home for secular and other...

  

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• A Human Rights Odyssey by Jeffrey Gale - Book ReviewSep 30, 2025 — A legacy that shows reconciliation is never passive—it must be pursued. Jeffrey Gale's A Human Rights Odyssey: From Dr...