Delving into diversity
The Building an Inclusive, Diverse Community essay contest is gaining steam. I had the opportunity to be on country radio 107.1 FM this week, discussing details with host Kenny Jones.
In the past two weeks, my e-mail account has been flooded with participants forwarding me their thoughts or asking questions. There are many terrific responses and thank you to everyone who wrote in. We will be in touch. For those who forgot the question or weren't aware of this contest. The question is:
How do we create an opportunity for different cultures to work together towards a harmonized, inclusive, multicultural community?
There are two categories: For youth, participants must be under 16 years of age or younger. The adult category is open to everyone over 16 years. All essays must be 300 words or less and e-mailed to me at the address below or dropped at the Abbotsford-Mission Times office (30887 Peardonville Rd., Abbotsford). Include your name, category and contact information.
The most common question I get asked about our contest is why am I/the Times doing this?
Well, it's simple - it is to promote cultural diversity and to continue to build relationships and to correct any misunderstandings that may exist between different groups in our communities.
Last week I proposed a race-relations question to my Facebook friends. I received a dozen or so lengthy responses. I wanted to get some personal insight into racism in our communities. It was an open discussion and I asked no one to hold back. Here are some of the comments I received.
"Racism is alive and well in every culture."
"I am Caucasian, so I hear Caucasians utter comments that embarrass me. I don't know what the East Indian people or Chinese think. Once we are Canadian, I would like us to work together. But there are bad apples in every group."
"When I heard a child calling someone a Hindu I asked him if he would like to be called a Baptist or a Catholic. Again, it's ignorance."
"OK, after thought, I can honestly say I am Caucasian and feel that every immigrant group is racist towards us. Why? Because as a white person, I cannot have an only Canadian whites group, or I'm racist. However, every immigrant group can have their own colleges, their own TV channels and their own beliefs . . ."
It's clear we still have much work to do. In the next two weeks, I will be climbing the Grouse Grind and would like people to join me in this cause to fight racism.
It takes a team effort and I am looking for members. If you're interested, please e-mail me.
Remember, everyone makes it to the top and no one gets left behind.
- Ken Herar is a columnist for the Abbotsford-Mission Times. Contact him at: kenherar@gmail.com.
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