Ashwin Annamalai, a Canadian citizen of Indian origin, expressed concern over a “disturbing rise” in hate crimes against the country’s Indian population. The growing concern coincides with current diplomatic tensions between India and Canada. Annamalai shared a video on the microblogging website He described the experience as deeply disturbing, adding that such incidents were becoming more frequent.
“The once welcoming community of Kitchener-Waterloo has seen a disturbing rise in hate, especially against people of color. Here is a personal account of what I experienced today: A random woman touched me while I was walking and spat hate Erb/Avondale – Wrongly assumed I challenged him very politely, said his racist words… He also accused me of not speaking English and should just leave,” he captioned the video.
Watch the video here:
He wrongly assumed that I was Indian and that I had to leave immediately. When I very politely challenge him, he continues his racist rants…he is also upset that there are black people in the community. He also accused me of not knowing how to speak English and that I should leave.
– Ashwin Annamalai (@ignorantsapient) October 15, 2024
Annamalai also shared a link to a news report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, titled Waterloo Region has highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in Canada.
“This is not an isolated incident. “New data from Statistics Canada reveals that Waterloo Region has the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in Canada,” he wrote in the comment thread.
