Keeping Waterloo Region kind
Have you ever had a friend make a comment about a person or group’s identity that didn’t sit well with you, but you were afraid to say something?
Now more than ever, it is important for us to speak up and be an ally, respect each other at a human level, and celebrate our differences.
More than 30 organizations and grassroots groups have come together to launch a new “We all belong here” campaign. It’s a community-wide effort to raise awareness and reduce the hate and harm that people experience simply because of who they are.
Waterloo Region is a caring community but there’s more work to do in this area. A report by the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation found that belonging is eroding and we have the highest rate of hate crimes per capita. The political climate as well as a lack of affordability and resources across the country also continues to divide people.
“Social polarization is not a cause, it’s an effect and it is an articulation of widespread unmet needs,” says Kamil Ahmed with Community Justice Initiatives (CJI), one of the campaign partners. “I actually think there’s a lot more shared reality than folks perceive there to be.”
Meet some members of the Combatting Hate Action Table (CHAT) and hear what they hope to see come out of the We all belong here campaign:
The campaign is for everyone – it’s for people experiencing harm, for those who want to help, and for people who have caused harm.
“I think success looks like folks feeling represented across the board,” says Kamil. “We want those who have experienced identity-based harm to feel seen, understood and honoured in their experience, even if mechanisms of justice can’t meet their needs.”
Kamil says he also wants folks outside the conversation to feel represented, including people who hold hateful ideologies, especially youth who are exposed to it as a way of life.
“We want to invite them into understanding the ways in which those beliefs fracture the tapestry of our community and how to weave themselves into our shared fabric.”
The campaign calls on the community to address all forms of hate, including microaggressions, which are subtle or indistinct forms of discrimination.
Laurel Boytim is Executive Director of The Ripple Effect Education, an organization that works with adults, youth, and children around peace building, conflict resolution, and social justice education. She is also a member of CHAT, which is part of the Community and Safety Wellbeing Plan.
“What we’re seeing and hearing in schools, workplaces, and in community groups is there’s a lot of identity-based conflicts and harms happening because our diversity is growing. It takes skills and intentional effort to view diversity as a strength and an asset as opposed to something we are going to have conflict or want to hurt each other about.”
Even though diversity enriches communities by binding us together, fostering creativity, innovation and economic growth, it can also lead to fear.
“There is a perception that change and transformation are things to be afraid of or that change comes with threats,” says Kamil. “So how do we support folks to turn back around and face each other because the conversations I see us having are with our backs against each other. That’s where folks find validation or affirmation in their perceived beliefs. But what would happen if we interacted outside of our echo chambers? That’s the work CJI has been doing for over 50 years, and I see this campaign and this community ripe for invitation.”
Now is the time to ensure we remain a community where everyone cares and respects each other at a basic human level. Instead of isolating people who are different from us, we invite them in. Everyone deserves kindness.
Visit www.webelongwr.ca to learn more about how you can do your part. The website includes information on:
- What it means to be an ally
- Supports for people experiencing and causing harm
- Resources to build awareness about hate and harm, trends, and how you can help spread the word