On the one-year anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing conflict in Gaza, events and protests took place across Canada, including in Edmonton and Calgary.
“No one wants this, right?” said Irfan Chaudhry, a hate crimes researcher at MacEwan University and co-founder of Stop Hate AB.
The conflict has had far-reaching effects around the world and in Canada, including families grieving loved ones who were killed, hundreds of protests resulting in arrests, pro-Palestinian encampments at universities and a spike in reports of hate crimes against Jews and Muslims.
Chaudhry said regardless of people’s background or religion, peace is desired on both sides. While the conflict is happening on the other side of the world, people across Canada are affected.
“When you have families that are connected to it, they’re conveying the reality of the situation from what they’re observing. And then us as almost like users of what we’re seeing online, we’re also kind of vicariously …