After Craig Henry stabbing, Islamophobia a concern for some Nepean residents

Deidre Guy, vice-president of the Craig Henry Community Association, says some are "looking for some place to lay blame" following a July 23 stabbing incident in the area. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA

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Though a man was stabbed in Nepean’s Craig Henry Park on July 23 when intervening in an argument between young girls, Deidre Guy isn’t worried about her neighbourhood’s safety.

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What concerns the Craig Henry resident most after the incident is the Islamophobia that has come out of it.

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“I know that, through the association and my exposure to this circumstance, people are looking for some place to lay blame. That is a huge factor playing into this,” said Guy, who is also vice-president of the Craig Henry Community Association.

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Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine is concerned about those sentiments, too.

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“People take what are the actions of a relatively small number of individuals from within a community and then put blame or point fingers at an entire community,” said the councillor, adding there had been a “diverse array of public safety concerns and violent incidents in this neighbourhood for a number of years.”

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As such, Devine has called for an increased police presence in the Craig Henry and Manordale neighbourhoods, which he said are among the most concerning to him.

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Guy and other neighbours say more can be done to combat hate in the area — before it takes place.

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Facebook posts

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After the stabbing, Devine made several posts on Facebook with updates on the situation.

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In screenshots of comments on the posts that were obtained by the Ottawa Citizen — some of them have been deleted — several Facebook users blamed Muslims and newcomers to the area for the recent violence.

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Devine said he turned off comments on his July 25, 26 and 28 posts for several reasons.

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“I was seeing a lot of anti-immigrant comments. I was also seeing tons of incorrect information. I was also seeing people posting names and information about those involved,” he said.

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Natasha Mott, a resident of the area, estimated that more than 25 per cent of the comments on Devine’s various posts “would bring religion into it.”

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“Residents have every right to be frustrated about violence in their community, especially when they feel that a pattern of incidents has not received an adequate response,” Devine said. “That frustration can turn into cynicism and anger, which can lead to the kind of cultural scapegoating I was seeing online, where the actions of a few individuals become unfair judgments about entire groups.”

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But Mott said she had also seen Islamophobia expressed in the community, not specifically related to the July 23 incident, through her involvement with the Manordale-Woodvale Community Association.

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Guy agreed. “It’s sad that it has come to this, but it’s not something that’s just happened out of the blue.”

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Councillor wants more police

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After the recent incident, Devine called for an increased police presence in the Craig Henry and Manordale neighbourhoods.

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He said the Ottawa Police Service had “fallen short” on this, telling him a lack of resources had made this request difficult to implement.