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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 4, 20 21 | 8 Cut out paying more Your only destination for more coupons, more flyers, more savings. #SavingWithSave Get your coupon at save.ca/coupons Save $1.25 on any KIND BARK™ product (102g). STEVE PAIKIN FROM TVO'S THE AGENDA Democracy is fragile. That's the thinking behind the Toronto Star and TVO partnership, The Democracy Agenda - an in-depth look at threats facing democracy here and abroad. Tune into TVO tonight @ 8pm or 11pm ET Stream on tvo.org On the fourth anniver- sary of the Quebec City Mosque shooting rampage, the painful memory is reig- nited. We know that when hate-motivated crimes oc- cur, they are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many hate in- cidents underneath. With regular crimes, one can ra- tionalize, for example, a theft occurred because of what one possesses and the criminal was after that item. For hate-motivated crimes, it is a reminder that someone hates us be- cause of who we are. It has deeper emotional impact. Immediately, the sense of security and safety is lost. Many newcomers come to Canada with high hopes. In the case of an experience of discrimination or a hate incident, it is a rude awak- ening for them, which in turn may become a barrier to integration and a sense of belonging. Hate may not be overt; it could be in the form of ig- noring the other, rendering them invisible. A discouraging reaction to their hurtful experience from a service provider like police, housing etc., can lead to revictimization. Survivors have felt emo- tional harm that adversely affect physical health and at times may lead to prob- lems at work, thus result- ing in financial difficulties. There are lost economic and social progress oppor- tunities. A hate incident doesn't just have an impact on an individual and their fami- lies, it affects the entire community with the same identity. It sends a signal that anyone could've been a target. When Islamophobia is enacted by the state -- when one sees the Muslim community as the only marginalized community facing direct discrimina- tion by the state in the form of secularism law -- then the community as a whole feels abandoned by the very institutions mandat- ed to protect them. This is felt as a betrayal. The lack of solidarity by fellow citi- zens makes them feel that they are standing alone. For Canadian Muslim youth, the disrespect they experience for their choice of clothing, food, religious and/or moral values leads to confusion, desperation and hopelessness. The most insidious as- pect of such hate is the in- ternalization of the mes- sages. The negative stereo- types are so strong that the youth accept them as truth. To understand one's own self through others' eyes is emotionally damaging. For Muslim women, es- pecially those who are identified as Muslim by their clothing, the impact is compounded because of the intersectionality of their gender, race, and reli- gion. It is worst for Black Muslim women who expe- rience a compounded layer of anti-Black racism. Hate crimes and inci- dents must be reported to the police and local advoca- cy groups. We must be firm in our stand against hate. Dr. Sarah Shafiq is the director of programming with the Coalition of Mus- lim Women of KW. She- works with organizations such as Community Justice Initiatives to diffuse racial tension and repair rifts created by xenophobia. OPINION HOW HATE CRIMES AND DISCRIMINATION AFFECT COMMUNITY WE MUST BE FIRM IN OUR STAND AGAINST HATE, WRITES DR. SARAH SHAFIQ SHAFIQ Column