A Waterloo man is asking on the Area of Waterloo to do extra to fight racism.
Ashwin Annamalai advised councillors Wednesday night time about incidents of hate he and his mates have been experiencing.
“One morning, about a month and a half ago, it all culminated when Shiva and I were verbally berated and pushed in downtown Kitchener on a public sidewalk, just because someone did not like the way we looked and the color of our skin,” Annamalai mentioned.
“It started with the small things. You know, people don’t smile back when you are walking on the street or they don’t greet, when I say ‘good morning’ or ‘hello.’ But then it’s turned quite aggressive now. People show us the finger when we’re walking on the street, or they ask us to explicitly go back,” delegate Shiva Subramanian mentioned.
Annamalai referred to as on council to run a regional anti-racism marketing campaign.
“If we continue to let our region spiral into more racism, the best and the brightest in the world are not going to come here to study. We lose out on attracting talent. Even people who wish to attend diploma-mills would choose to go to other cities that are safer than ours,” Annamalai mentioned.
Annamalai recommended promoting via radio, tv, billboards and Grand River Transit whereas additionally bringing grassroot organizations collectively.
Annamalai earlier spoke to CTV about an incident he skilled final week.
Councillor Colleen James grew to become emotional when she mentioned the state of affairs on the council assembly on Wednesday.
“While I couldn’t show my daughter everything, a seven-year-old, I had to sit down and tell her don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t belong here. As someone who is from this community, I never thought that this would be the point that we’re at today,” James mentioned.
James requested workers to take a look at discovering methods to handle these problems with hate.
“I want to see something with that education component back to this council and coupled with communication and talks with the area municipalities. Some of us received a very, very hateful email a few days ago and that is just one of many. We have a significant crisis when it comes to racism and discrimination in this region,” James mentioned.
“We all have to stand up for this in a gentle way. We have to be respectful and accept one another. That’s the way to do it. No government can legislate respect. No government can legislate decency. It has to come from us each and every one of us,” Sue Foxton, a councillor with the Area of Waterloo mentioned.
Chair Karen Redman advised the delegates that regional workers will now look into the request for a proper marketing campaign.
