It is with heavy hearts that we open this email with the tragic news of a terrorist attack in London, Ontario killing four members of a Muslim family and leaving a 9 year old boy orphaned.
As Yusuf Siraj with the Islam Unravelled Anti-Racism Initiative said this week:
“If you feel attacked, or targeted, and no one stands up for you – no one’s there to say that’s wrong, we don’t approve that, we don’t accept that – then people might start think that this belief is mainstream when it is not.”
With this in mind, here are three ways you can stand in solidarity with the Muslim community and support anti-racism:
• Attend the second Vancouver vigil to remember the victims and challenge extremist ideologies TONIGHT – Thursday, June 10 at 7pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
• Tell your political representatives to support the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ calls for an immediate National Action Summit on Islamophobia, to dismantle systemic and violent forms of Islamophobia.
• Share or donate to the fundraiser set up by extended family for the Muslim community through the Salman Family Sadaqa Jariya Fund.
Next week we will begin sharing a series of emails celebrating Indigenous Heritage month. We encourage you, as parents, to bring some or all of these stories to your kids. And we hope you find these resources and suggestions for action are helpful as we each find our own ways to understand, honour and build a safer, more inclusive and equitable school and community.
The next Hastings Anti-racism Committee (HARC) meeting will be held next Monday, June 14th from 7-8pm on Zoom. All Hastings parents and guardians are welcome to attend every meeting. Zoom link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83701847394?pwd=aWhXMXA4S0kzbFlJaGEvN2lwMWRrUT09.