Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Abbotsford News & Cycling4Diveristy present: The Diversity Challenge
COLUMN: Diversity Challenge returns to Abbotsford
February 24, 2016 · 9:48 AM
Back by popular demand The Abbotsford News and Cycling4Diversity will be hosting The Diversity Challenge, giving you the readers the opportunity to provide your input on the diversity question.
Having organized this contest for many years, I have always enjoyed working with our readers and the public to create a discussion that will make people think and provide their valuable input. In that time this opportunity has allowed for some amazing responses that I have shared with all of you over the years and with some of the schools.
In this year’s Diversity Challenge there will be a question that respondents can answer in 140 characters, which the top three winners will have their answers posted on all of The News social media sites, including others prizes.
The question is: How has diversity impacted your life? Please, leave the hashtags #DiversityRocks #Cycling4Diversity, along with your response. In past years the question has been age restricted, but this year we’ve opened it to all ages and hopefully we will get an outstanding response before the March 31st deadline.
There will also be a colouring contest for children ages (five to 10), which parents can pick up at The News front desk, which is popular with young kids and usually get a entire class at schools participating vying for the top three spots. If you are a teacher and would like me to come to your class to speak to the kids about The Diversity Challenge, send me an email at my address below and I would be more than happy to come for a visit.
Whether it is the diversity question or the colouring contest, I think it’s a fabulous idea for schools to participate and it’s really exciting for me as an organizer to witness young minds in action tackling this opportunity in a positive way. There are ten cute characters that need to coloured in and diversified for our judges to inspect.
On a topic such as diversity, we at The Abbotsford News feel it’s an asset to be engaging with the public with our contest creating an understanding that diversity is our strength that will guide us into the future and build our community even stronger.
News publisher Andrew Franklin said, "The News is excited to partner with Cycling4Diversity in this awareness campaign. Our city reflects a true multicultural community and this campaign allows us to engage like-minded people to share a positive message in social media. A huge thank you to Ken Herar for spearheading this important message of an inclusive community."
As an example, here is my response to the question: It is our diversity that has allowed me the opportunity to meet and speak with so many people through this column and in so many other ways on topics and issues that affect us all. It is our diversity that always brings us together with an open mind.
Contact Ken Herar at kenherar@gmail.com
Friday, January 29, 2016
We're different on the outside, same on the inside
COLUMN: We're different on the outside, same on the inside
January 28, 2016 · Updated 9:01 AM
Abbotsford News columnist Ken Herar / FILE PHOTO
I have never forgotten the first time I experienced racism and came to the realization that I was a bit different than the rest.
Reflecting on a moment growing in our hometown of Mission where our family encountered racism for the first time to my knowledge.
Back in the 1970's people (kids) unfortunately threw eggs at homes if they were from immigrant families. Diversity wasn't a concept that was really spoken about, but it was a learning experience we had to go through.
I recall, eating supper at our dinner table one evening when a bunch of kids threw eggs, which sounded like rocks at our door and yelled, " Paki's Go Home". A bit scared and never really understanding the situation, we asked our father what do they mean. Dad replies, " We are a little different than the rest, son."
Looking back at it now he was trying to shelter us from the hate. Trying to comprehend all of this, we sucked it up and realized we had to be a bit stronger than the rest. You don't really understand it, until you know you are different.
I don't believe this happens anymore at least I hope not. We still love our town of Mission and they're are no hard feelings from our family. You move forward, but you don't really forget the lasting imprint it leaves on your conscience. You just hope it doesn't happen again to anyone else. Actually, the kids that used to do this apologized indirectly to us many years later. Even some of those eggs may have been different on the outside, they all looked the same on the inside when they were scrambled at our doorstep.
This ordeal had been on my mind for the past year to share on what some immigrant families had to go through many decades ago and reminded that we were different and had to work a little harder than the rest
I recently reached out to the three men, who were being sought after for suspicious behaviour ( Middle Eastern men) at Pacific Centre in Vancouver a few weeks ago and provided them with encouragement and shared a little what we do with Cycling4Diversity. I also gave them C4D shirts as gifts before they headed back home to England to showcase our true diverse spirit as Canadians. The first thing I said as I walked through the door to shake Mohammed Sharaz is, " I am sorry for what happened" and he responded, " Don't be sorry". The three of them, including his son and a friend were taking pictures at the downtown mall and alarms bells were raised by their behaviour by security staff, while two of them suffer from vision issues and were here for treatment. The three men turned themselves in after they found the story accidentally and images of themselves when Goggling Vancouver. During, our talk they didn't have a ill faded word to say and loved Vancouver and all the kind people who stepped forward to assist and clear the air. As Mohammed said police and security staff have a responsibility to keep people safe. But, he added it could of been handled better by some of the media outlets to protect them and their safety.
kenherar@gmail.com
Sunday, January 10, 2016
The valley’s bushiest beard
COLUMN: The valley’s bushiest beard
On the Spot by Ken Herar
I recently bumped into Thomas Hodgson, the guy with the bushiest beard probably in the Fraser Valley. He certainly wasn’t hard to miss by any stretch of the imagination as I sat in a restaurant. I shared with him that his hairy reddish beard was very impressive and he shared that it goes past his waist. I have seen my fellow Sikh brothers with beards like these, but not a Caucasian person, except for Santa, of course. I was told once that people with beards hold much wisdom.
Hodgson, who has been growing his beard for two years, says he gets a lot of strange responses from people. Women have asked him to shave it off and his response to them is to stop wearing makeup.
He explains that small children are always pleasant with him and usually hold no judgments or biases. Adults and teenagers are the worst, he explains.
“Rarely do I get a positive reaction from an adult or teens. Women in their 20s are scared and intimidated and same goes for men. Older women and men are very judgmental and stare for a long time, and make really puzzled looks and that’s the same for people who have grown up here.”
Hodgson says he feels alienated through all of this, especially when looking for employment, where many employers have asked him to shave it off.
He lost his job a year ago, and has a hard time finding a job, because many have judged him because of this very reason, but he refuses to shave it off. He says people are far more judgmental in the Fraser Valley than in the metro surroundings.
On the bright side, there are people who find it fascinating. They are usually the ones who cannot grow beards, while some just find it intriguing. It’s all not negative, according to Hodgson, but he still loves the person who he is and the beard, which makes him, who he is.
* * * * *
The Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards are approaching quickly with the deadline around the corner on Jan. 12 and the awards ceremony on March 4 at the Ramada Plaza and Conference Centre in Abbotsford. Having been a past recipient of the Champion of Diversity in 2007, I was honoured to receive this recognition.
With this award comes a responsibility to continue to serve. There are five award categories and never a shortage of outstanding nominees that showcase our community’s commitment to cultural diversity.
The event is always sold out with fine representatives from our community. The time has come that award organizers and judges should consider expanding and awarding two awards for each category. In doing this, we touch more people and create more mentors.
One thing I hear often from volunteers is they never get recognized for their work, and this would be a small way to change this perception. Having a few extra recipients will not only encourage organizations to continue to do their work, but also bring new nominees into the fold.
kenherar@gmail.com
I recently bumped into Thomas Hodgson, the guy with the bushiest beard probably in the Fraser Valley. He certainly wasn’t hard to miss by any stretch of the imagination as I sat in a restaurant. I shared with him that his hairy reddish beard was very impressive and he shared that it goes past his waist. I have seen my fellow Sikh brothers with beards like these, but not a Caucasian person, except for Santa, of course. I was told once that people with beards hold much wisdom.
Hodgson, who has been growing his beard for two years, says he gets a lot of strange responses from people. Women have asked him to shave it off and his response to them is to stop wearing makeup.
He explains that small children are always pleasant with him and usually hold no judgments or biases. Adults and teenagers are the worst, he explains.
“Rarely do I get a positive reaction from an adult or teens. Women in their 20s are scared and intimidated and same goes for men. Older women and men are very judgmental and stare for a long time, and make really puzzled looks and that’s the same for people who have grown up here.”
Hodgson says he feels alienated through all of this, especially when looking for employment, where many employers have asked him to shave it off.
He lost his job a year ago, and has a hard time finding a job, because many have judged him because of this very reason, but he refuses to shave it off. He says people are far more judgmental in the Fraser Valley than in the metro surroundings.
On the bright side, there are people who find it fascinating. They are usually the ones who cannot grow beards, while some just find it intriguing. It’s all not negative, according to Hodgson, but he still loves the person who he is and the beard, which makes him, who he is.
* * * * *
The Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards are approaching quickly with the deadline around the corner on Jan. 12 and the awards ceremony on March 4 at the Ramada Plaza and Conference Centre in Abbotsford. Having been a past recipient of the Champion of Diversity in 2007, I was honoured to receive this recognition.
With this award comes a responsibility to continue to serve. There are five award categories and never a shortage of outstanding nominees that showcase our community’s commitment to cultural diversity.
The event is always sold out with fine representatives from our community. The time has come that award organizers and judges should consider expanding and awarding two awards for each category. In doing this, we touch more people and create more mentors.
One thing I hear often from volunteers is they never get recognized for their work, and this would be a small way to change this perception. Having a few extra recipients will not only encourage organizations to continue to do their work, but also bring new nominees into the fold.
kenherar@gmail.com
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Cycling4Diversity is proud of team member Harjit Sajjan, Canada's new defence minister
COLUMN: Team proud of new defence minister
November 27, 2015 · Updated 9:28 AM
This is what he shared with me before he got involved with C4D off one of our Facebook chats a few years ago, and speaks volumes of his character.
Sajjan said, “I am very impressed with your efforts and unique approach. I command one of the most diverse regiments in Canada, and I am passionate about positively changing people’s perception of diversity.”
I couldn’t think of a better response from someone in his position to lead our nation with the strife we currently face around the globe. In the two years Harjit was involved with C4D, he not only changed people’s perceptions, he left a lasting impression with everyone he touched building on our message of inclusion.
I had the opportunity to meet my good friend Jaspreet Anand, who owns SippChai on Townline in Abbotsford. He started his first annual SippChai Charity Calendar that will benefit many local organizations, and was kind enough to put members of our Cycling4Diversity team in May 2016, along with many other organizations such as Abbotsford Youth Commission, Cyrus Centre, The Salvation Army and Abbotsford Arts Council, to name a few. The calendars are selling for $10 and he is hoping to sell 10,000 calendars.
If you ever walk into Mission McDonald’s late in the evening, you’ll be sure to bump into Don Warkentin, who is always busy with his writing and music as visitors munch on their burgers and fries. He’s an avid reader and world-class gardener, along with his late wife Hilda, who passed away a few years back.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Warkentin at McDonald’s a few months back and he shared an interesting story about his childhood. The kitchen table is where we learn to care about people who may be different than us. Growing up in Abbotsford, he spoke about being a young child and his mother asking him to deliver a pie and bread to the Mitchells, who lived across the street.
He puts it simply, “Nobody trusted them and they trusted no one.”
As he approached the door that evening, and he remembers it fondly, Mr. Mitchell would take his gun off the wall and yell “who is it?” As he would open the door slowly, Mitchell would see little Donny with food and would welcome him inside. He describes this valuable lesson from his mother as, “We have to learn to care.”
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Choosing friendship over fear in Surrey
SETTLING IN SURREY: Choosing friendship over fear
Reverend Kimiko Karpoff, right, and Darshan Mann are greeted by Muslim women following a Friday prayer inside the Surrey Jamia Masjid mosque on 72nd Avenue.
MULTICULTURALISM: While Surrey may be recognized for celebrating its diversity in ‘grandiose’ ways, without personal connections to neighbours from different walks of life, it’s ‘so easy to fear each other’
FINAL IN A SERIES: In Surrey, 40 per cent of residents are immigrants. With this series, we look at the challenges they face as they struggle to build a new life here.
––––––
Us and them. Can that really change?
With a large and continuously increasing immigrant population in Surrey, it’s an undeniable challenge to connect people from the various places of origin and religion that call this city home.
“I don’t think it’s a destination. It’s a journey,” mused Minister Will Sparks with Northwood United Church as he took part in Surrey’s first Interfaith Pilgrimage. The event was put together to honour victims of terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut and to foster understanding between people of different backgrounds.
For Sparks, that journey began after 9/11.
“I wanted to reach out to my Muslim neighbours because I knew that they were vilified based on extremist actions. Much like today. I realized that I didn’t have any relationships,” he said. “That was the impetus to say this is not OK. It’s not OK to not know your neighbours, it’s not OK to not cultivate relationships with neighbours and people of different faiths. That’s what kind of kicked me into high gear.”
According to the minister, it’s important to make those connections.
“It’s so easy to fear each other. We can’t be doing that.”
When a community is connected, they can come together in times of pain and crisis, said Sparks.
“You have the relationships to rely on and you can make a call. You can say, ‘How are you doing?’ to your Muslim neighbour,” he said. “There’s a lot of things going on out there. A lot of suspicion, a lot of fear, a lot of reaction. What can we do to put other messages into the mix that are more loving, less fearful? For us, that’s where this is coming from.”
Surinder Jabal, president of the Brookside Gurdwara that participated in the event, praised the Surrey Interfaith Council for organizing the walk.
“It’s for peace,” Jabal noted as he helped put out tea and snacks for those participating in the march. “It’s good to know each other. If you don’t know what activities are all about, then we live in fear. It’s better to have an understanding.”
Timothy Favelle of Port Moody brought his children, four-year-old Nathan and two-year-old Mercedes, to the event to explore a variety of religions all at one.
“We’re First Nation spiritual, sort of, but we’re Mennonites,” he said outside the Newton gurdwara.
“This is a great way to break down walls and division in people,” Favelle said of the event.
A true melting pot of cultures, the march was pulled together in a matter of days. People of many faiths and backgrounds turned out, from Atheists and Mennonites to Sikhs and Bahá’Ãs.
The roughly 20-kilometre trek began at Northwood United Church in Fleetwood, then stopped by Brookside Gurdwara and Singh Sabha Gurdwara, ending with the “pilgrims” participating in a Friday prayer at the Surrey Jamia Masjid mosque close to the Surrey-Delta border.
The women put on headdresses before entering the mosque on the second floor. They take in the prayer from the above, separate from the men, who enter on the main floor.
There were looks of confusion in both of the rooms as the men and women entered. Even throughout the prayer, there were glances out of the corners of eyes, some more obvious than others.
But after learning who the “pilgrims” were and what they were doing that day, that curiosity turned into welcoming for many.
Hugs were shared by strangers and many hands were held.
The Muslim community expressed gratitude to the organizers of the event and to those who participated.
“We are so appreciative,” B.C. Muslim Association president Daud Ismail told the crowd. “People who are committing these cold-blooded crimes, they are cowards. In the name of humanity, I think we should all come together.”
While Friday’s event was unarguably an example of acceptance and cultural integration, can that be said about the other 364 days of the year?
Some say no.
STOP SEGREGATING, ADVOCATE SAYS
Ken Herar, founder of Cycling4Diversity, says more needs to be done to connect people of different cultures in Surrey and other multicultural cities.
The issue of isolation between cultures is something Herar hears a lot about from residents through his job as a columnist for Abbotsford News.
“Abbotsford and Surrey are very similar, with large Indo-Canadian populations,” he said, “and I was hearing about it a lot. I decided I want to do something. What can I do more than just being a columnist? I wanted to do something on a larger scale.”
So in 2011, Cycling4Diversity was born. The group bikes to schools to encourage people to make friends and connect with people outside of their ethnic communities.
The first bike ride for diversity took place from Mission to Victoria and it’s happened every year since, visiting almost 100 schools over that time.
During their stops, Herar, along with eight other cyclists, spread a message of acceptance and celebrating diversity.
“We share examples of diversity and the struggles we still face. And we do it as a team. We have police officers, teachers, just normal people,” he explained. “We share examples of what we need to do. For example when we visited the Khalsa School in Surrey earlier this year, I told them, ‘When you leave these walls and you’re in your communities and neighbourhoods make sure you connect with people outside your community.’
“If you’re brown, go make friends with someone who is Caucasian or Asian.”
Growing up as a kid in the ’80s, Ken Herar recalls playing hockey with people of all colour.
Today, he looks at sports groups directed at specific ethnic communities and wonders why there is such segregation.
“That is not the way we should be doing it,” he said. “When I played hockey, we represented our town. We didn’t have small leagues where we had ethnic groups.”
Herar said events that focus on integration between ethnic communities are great, but that embracing other cultures needs to happen more often, not just at events like the Interfaith Pilgrimage and Surrey’s award-winning Fusion Festival.
“We’re not seeing change. I think it’s here to stay, actually, so we just have to be aware of it and just keep building awareness,” said Herar.
“We’re not saying people should give up their culture or traditions, but let’s talk to our neighbours.”
PRACTISING DIVERSITY WITHIN WALLS
Asked if ethnic communities are integrated enough in Surrey, Herar said, “We’re not. I think we can do a lot better yet.
“When we’re more integrated with each other, I think the differences that divide us that cause racism, you see less of that and people are more accepting of each other,” he mused. “When a community is more integrated people are not saying, ‘Those people,’ or, ‘That’s how they do it.’ I hear a lot of that.”
According to Herar, we’re “practicing diversity within walls” right now.
“Meaning when we go to festivals or functions, we do it there, and by the time we leave, everything is back to normal again. We need to break those walls down…. Diversity should be practised everyday.”
He said misunderstanding other cultures can lead to frustration and racism.
“People phone me and say, ‘Ken, these types of people don’t hold the door open for people.’ So we have a lot of different issues all the time. I think we can do a lot better,” Herar said.
Even within cultures, struggles are present.
“South Asians are also upset to a certain degree that newer immigrants should be doing a lot more in terms of integration,” he explained. “So it’s not a white and a brown thing, it’s also struggles within the community that we see.”
Where does the solution lie? For Herar, it all begins with friendship.
“Go for supper, make friends outside your culture, invite people from outside your ethnic community to your home,” he urged. “The feedback I get is this is not happening.”
He said he rarely sees youth from different cultures walking down the street together.
“I’m not saying it never happens, but we should be seeing it more,” said Herar. “For how big our community is, I should see a lot more of it. Hopefully people can change.”
David Dalley with the Surrey Interfaith Council was one of the organizers of last week’s pilgrimage. He, too, believes a connected and understanding community can be achieved through friendship.
“It’s that simple,” he said, smiling.
Make a friend outside of your ethnic or religious community, he urged. “Sometimes we can get carried away with big grandiose ideas, whether it’s big events or big shows. Those are all important but I really think it just comes down to friendship on a one-to-one level.”
They both urge people to forget the “us and them” mentality.
Interestingly, Dalley said the word “refugee” is now bothering him and it’s because that mentality is now seemingly connected to it.
“It used to be a word that evoked empathy and a connection and a desire to help and give a hand. And now it seems like the connotation has switched and it feels like there’s a negative cloaking around it. It struck me, how weird that the word refugee is bothering me. Can’t we just use the word human?” he asked.
“There are some humans coming. And they’re hurting.”
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