Parents calling for more action after hateful flyers circulate Ajax schools – Durham | 24CA News
Kinzi Ahmed couldn’t imagine her eyes when she discovered hateful flyers have been circulating on the faculty attended by her 4 youngsters.
“I was horrified, sick to my stomach,” Ahmed mentioned. “I couldn’t imagine how much hate would be put in a poster.”
And Ahmed isn’t alone. Many mother and father have been left involved after flyers containing offensive anti-black content material have been unfold all through a number of Ajax faculties after which to social media final week.
Two teenage boys and a person are actually going through harassment-related costs.
While these costs introduced aid to some native mother and father, many are usually not happy. Instead, they known as for the varsity board to publicly condemn the incident.
Even after the arrests, Ahmed mentioned conversations surrounding prejudice and hateful behaviour are critically necessary.
“We uncovered anti-black racist hate crime, although an arrest has been made,” Ahmed mentioned. “The discussions and concerns we have don’t end here.”
Many mother and father voiced their issues at a DDSB board assembly on Monday. Some mentioned the incident was minimized and dismissed by the board.
“It was downplayed significantly by administrators and the board,” attendee Nicole Bell mentioned. “And I would like to know why.”
John Henry, Durham’s regional chair and chief govt officer, launched a press release on Tuesday in response to the incident.
Henry mentioned the flyers have been created as an act of revenge, with the intention of eliciting a destructive response from the neighborhood. He took a stand towards the messages within the flyers, and mentioned Durham Region has zero tolerance for this sort of behaviour.
“We strive to create welcoming, equitable and inclusive communities to ensure all residents feel safe and supported,” he mentioned. “I offer my deepest sympathies to all individuals who have been impacted by the malicious messaging and illustrations found on these flyers.”
Jim Markovski, the affiliate director of equitable training with the board of trustees, mentioned the varsity board doesn’t tolerate hate and is supporting the continued police investigation. As a begin, the DDSB despatched messages to impacted households.
“I’m not going to sit here and dispute the harmful impact this had on families,” he mentioned. “We did have supports dispatched to those schools to ensure if there was any harm or stress that needed to be assessed, the supports would be there for them.”
But Ahmed mentioned the board’s responses want to alter. Instead of disregarding issues like these, she mentioned the DDSB must take mother and father severely.
“It’s not something we can ignore and it’s not something we can just pass off as a one-off,” she mentioned.
The faculty board will meet once more on May 23.
