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The Government of Canada is planning to send an official delegation to the United Nations World Conference on Racism which will be held in South Africa August 31st to September 7th 2001. The official title of this conference is the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. This is Canada’s chance to prove to the world that Canada is the best country in the world. A chance to show off its anti-racism policies that make Canada the best place in the world in which to live.
Canada has committed to play an active international role in this process.
Canada is co-sponsoring the UN resolutions against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Canada is “committed to supporting UN action against these threats to human security”. Canada is committed to having the views of those who have been victimized by intolerance, racism and racial discrimination be a central part of the consultation process. Canada has promised that the consultation process be transparent, accessible, inclusive and accountable. Canada has promised that all efforts would be made to ensure that barriers to participation are identified and wherever possible removed.
Part of Canada’s Approach to the World Conference states: “The World Conference provides an important venue for all concerned to listen to those who have been victimized, learn from one another and continue working to heal the wounds caused by racism and intolerance.”
With all this highfalutin language I decided that this was the best place to make sure that the voices of the African Canadian community, especially the youth, of St James Town who are subjected to police racism and brutality are heard. Armed with my optimism and faith in the Federal government’s promises, I went to the Regional Consultation Conference, which was held in Toronto recently.
On that first morning, I listened as a Native woman spoke passionately about the hypocrisy of Canada seeking to take a leading role in an international forum on anti-racism with its abysmal treatment of Native people in Canada.
She advised the government that it could educate the world on anti-racism by telling the world that the way to be anti-racist is to do the opposite of what Canada does to its Native people. She said that Canada could give the rest of the world lessons on how to be racist. The government officials did not seem to be sure how to respond to this woman’s honesty.
On Monday, September 25, I was in a workshop entitled “Measures of Prevention, Education and Protection Aimed at the Eradication of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance at the National, Regional and International Level.” During this workshop, as part of a discussion on religious intolerance, one of the participants used the “N” word. I sat there shocked, frozen, waiting for the facilitator to deal with this very racist epithet. But she continued talking, facilitating the discussion about religious intolerance as if this man had not just dropped a bomb in the room.
The ugly word just sat there staring me in the face with reminders of the police racism and brutality I had been subjected to on July 8, making me sick to my stomach.
I politely waited my turn to speak and then let everyone in the room know that the word was very offensive and should not have been used. The man who used the word tried to justify his use of this word by declaring that he did not use it in a pejorative manner but for its shock value. I repeated my objection to the use of the word by explaining that the word had a history beginning with the enslavement of Africans, lynchings, rape and other unspeakable horrors. He continued trying to justify his use of the word. I further explained that racism was a health issue, that people who were subjected to racism suffered physical and mental health problems as a result of racism.
The facilitator did not intervene, never addressed the issue. I left the room because I felt that I would choke in the poisoned environment which permeated that room.
At the plenary session, after the workshops, and supported by members of the African Canadian Coalition Against Racism, I spoke about the incident and suggested that an apology should be issued to the members of the African Canadian community who were in attendance at the workshop and the Consultation Conference.
The Secretary of State for Multiculturalism did not seem to share our view of the seriousness of this racist word. Even after I explained that there was a history to the word and the effect that hearing it had on me, she seemed to think that the whole thing was a joke. The members of the ACCAR stood with me and supported me.
The Secretary of State for Multiculturalism then became very offended and offensive and declared that if an apology would make us happy, if an apology would help to get the process moving then she would apologize. She refused to acknowledge the racism, she refused to accept any responsibility for the fiasco that had resulted from the incompetence of the person that her office had employed to facilitate this workshop.
This is the government’s commitment to dealing with anti-racism on the domestic front despite all the flowery language. After this experience I am left wondering what this government intends to say when the delegation gets to South Africa in 2001. The hypocrisy, which the Native woman alluded to in her speech, was very evident in the handling of this situation.
The irony of being subjected to racism in a workshop entitled “Measures of Prevention, Education and Protection Aimed at the Eradication of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance at the National, Regional and International Levels”, is overwhelming. It is obvious that the words used in the documents that the government has produced for this International Conference are just words on paper. There is no real commitment to challenge and eradicate racism.
We can make this language a reality, we can force the government to live up to those words if we become involved. The African Canadian Coalition Against Racism needs our support to hold this government accountable and make them commit to the words of the documents that are being used in the preparation for this International Conference.
Become involved by participating in setting the agenda and influencing the outcome of this World Conference on Racism. This is our chance to ensure that our voices are heard at an international level. This is our opportunity to ensure that the government recognizes anti-Black racism as a distinct form of discrimination in Canada. We owe it to our youth who are over policed and over-represented in the penal system. We owe it to our children who are streamed into programs that prevent them from accessing higher education. Our future depends on becoming involved.
Courtesy of Share On-Line News
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