At YWCA Toronto’s total staff meeting on June 10th, union CUPE Local 2189 president Qaiser Khan delivered a timely, moving address touching on recent events in the news. It resonated deeply with staff so Qaiser has generously agreed to share an excerpt with YWCA Toronto blog readers:
To begin today, I will not be talking about our Union Local issues. I am instead moved to address recent events across Canada that speak to our solidarity as a people.
I believe we are living in a time of re-awakening. The pandemic has taken its toll on so many aspects of our lives. I have been feeling a slow rise in anxiety levels, and I know you’re feeling it too.
COVID has consumed far too much of its share of news, but recent current events including the finding of 215 graves of Indigenous children and theterrorist attack of an innocent Muslim family in London, Ontario have added other frightening layers of anxiety.
We saw this re-awakening last year with anti-Black racism protests, which stemmed from the murder of George Floyd and others in Canada. The work has started, but slowly. There has been other work on Indigenous rights issues, such as The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
I am encouraged by much of this work, and the increased awareness, but I am reminded that there is so much more work to be done, and that we need to hold our political leaders accountable.
The vigil in London last Tuesday saw federal political party leaders come out to show support for loved ones of the Afzaal family, who were targeted and killed by a motorist while out walking on the evening of Sunday, June 6th, and to condemn both the terrorist attack and Islamophobia. They all spoke eloquently and they all had the same message.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated, “Islamophobia is real. Racism is real. You should not have to face that hate in your communities, in your country. We can and we will act. We can and we will choose a better way.”
Leader of the Opposition Erin O’Toole said, “This was an attack on a family walking together in their community, the actual family was entitled to the same security, the same freedom from fear and the same freedom to worship as every Canadian, and we have to commit ourselves to making sure it is a reality for all Canadians”.
However, we need to ask politicians such as O’Toole, who leads the Conservative Party, why they opposed the non-binding motion condemning Islamophobia back in 2017? Although it passed into law, the Bloc Québécois and 86 members of the Conservative Party, including O’Toole, opposed it.
What about the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation report, only a fraction of which have been addressed since it came out in 2015, the year the federal Liberals won both power and a majority?
I wonder if all of this grandstanding is just political maneuvering. Like other injustices, along with other forms of system discrimination and racism, Islamophobia did not just appear: It has been simmering for a long time and, I feel, is coming to a head during this pandemic.
As a visible Muslim woman from the similar background as the Afzaal family, I used to feel relatively safe in my community, dressed ethnically, wearing a hijab. When my family and I walk around my neighbourhood, we look exactly like the Afzaals.
I am shaken. I will think twice about my choice of clothes. I am similarly shaken with the news of the unmarked graves of the 215 Indigenous children. I am shaken with thoughts of Black people living with racism every single day. I am shaken with the judgement and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ community daily. I am shaken by all the hate spewed because of differences and attitudes of superiority that brew quietly in Canadian society.
I am realizing that I have to pay more attention to what I am promised and what actually happens. I used to believe in promises and am afraid that I am losing both faith and trust.
That said, I am still an optimist, and I do see efforts on part of many kind-hearted good people. I am heartened with shows of solidarity, statements and a rise of calls of Action from many groups across Canada, including from my employer, YWCA Toronto and our national CUPE office. I hope that the Afzal family’s deaths, although senseless, will lead to the same sense of urgency and awareness as the death of George Floyd, another senseless death based on systemic racism.
I will leave you with this small prayer, which is commonly recited by Muslims, especially upon hearing bad news. It is recited both as a sign of patience and an acknowledgement that God is the Almighty, and he will not test his worshippers more than we can bear.
innā li-llāhi wa-ʾinna ʾilayhi rājiʿūn
This is a Quranic command for Muslims, which means, "Verily we belong to Allah and verily to Him do we return.”
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Qaiser Khan is President of CUPE Local 2189 and a Community Development/Settlement Counsellor at JUMP Etobicoke