A kind of unrest that’s not so far away

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/08/2024 (419 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The unrest playing out across the Atlantic should be something all Canadians are concerned about — because it could happen here, too.

Recent weeks have seen communities across England and Northern Ireland marred by the worst incidences of rioting and violence in the country in more than 10 years. The disruptions began after a terrible tragedy on July 29, when three young girls between the ages of six and nine were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event in Southport, England. Eight children and two adults were injured as well. A 17-year-old suspect was arrested and charged.

But the intensity of the unrest is not due just to the unmistakable tragedy of the three young girls’ deaths.

Rather, it was stoked by a disinformation campaign among far-right circles which used the tragedy to target immigrants, including speculation the suspect was an asylum-seeker and also that he was Muslim. In fact, the suspect was born in Wales to Rwandan parents, and his religion has not been disclosed (if he has one). A British court ended up making the unusual move of naming the underage suspect in an effort to counter the online misinformation.

After a huge mobilization of police and also support from other community members, Reuters reported Thursday that the riots appeared to be dying down, as new demonstrations “did not materialize” after threats of widespread gatherings.

But the damage is done. A terrible tragedy proved useful to far-right agitators in riling up anti-immigrant and Islamophobic sentiment to the point of violence in the streets. Such acts will no doubt have long-lasting effects on those communities. And what’s more, the need for communities and police across the country to deal with these outbursts has done nothing but delay and disrupt the important work of investigating and process what was already a terrible situation.

It is sad to say, but we have likely not seen the last of it, and we will likely see such violence break out in other parts of the world, too.

Maybe even here.

It’s not an absurd notion.

Canada has its own long history of racism and prejudice, including against newcomers. Further, we have the same sort of far-right agitators in our midst, people who are willing to lay the blame on the “Other” in the name of ginning up support for a caused, raising money, or even just getting clicks online. But however easily these narratives are spread, the impact of them is felt deeply and painfully.

Consider the 2017 shooting at a Quebec mosque which killed six and left five others injured; or the 2021 attack in which a man ran over and killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont. A nine-year-old child in the family survived.

Frankly, it is a little rich for anyone in the U.K., the U.S. and Canada — all countries steeped in British colonialist traditions or imperial designs of their own making — to look at newcomers trying to move in and set up their own communities and taking umbrage.

We must be vigilant about combating this rhetoric as we carry on into the future, because the reality is, a changing world is going to mean more human migration from one place to the next.

Whether it be due to war, political unrest or climate change, people in more vulnerable parts of the globe will naturally seek refuge and fresh starts elsewhere — just as, 100 years ago and more, many Canadians’ ancestors did the exact same thing for very similar reasons.

We have to learn how to live together in this changing world — in peace.