“Love us when we aren’t athletes,
when we don’t bake cakes
when we don’t offer our homes, or free taxi rides after the event,
When we’re wretched, suicidal, naked and contributing nothing
Love us then
Because if you need me to prove my humanity
I’m not the one that’s not human.”
This poem entitled, This is not a Humanizing Poem, written by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, was one of several displayed around McGuire Lake on June 25.
The poems were part of a vigil held by Shuswap Immigrant Services Society to stand up against racism and hate, while paying respect to those who were killed and to those impacted by the June 6 attack on a Muslim family in London, Ont.
Along with carrying ornamental candles as they walked around the lake in the lengthening shadows, participants stopped to read the writings along the way. They also had the opportunity to write a message on small flags that were hung along one side of the lake.
Shuswap Immigrant Services Society is a member of Resilience BC’s Anti-Racism Network.
The society states on its anti-racism material that it is committed to “building an inclusive community where everyone is accepted, respected, free from violence and fear, and able to thrive, regardless of race, colour, cultural background, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual/affectional orientation, or level of ability.”
Read more: Trudeau calls London, Ont., vehicle assault that killed Muslim family a ‘terrorist attack’
Read more: Mosque to host vigil for family killed in London, Ont., vehicle attack
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Residents walk around McGuire Lake on Friday, June 25 as part of a vigil held by the Shuswap Immigrant Services Society. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
Participants in the vigil at McGuire Lake on June 25, 2021 stop to read a poem posted for contemplation. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
This was one of the poems posted for participants to read in a walking vigil held by the Shuswap Immigrant Services Society on Friday, June 25. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
A vigil held by the Shuswap Immigrant Services Society on Friday, June 25 to stand up against racism and hate, included a walk around Salmon Arm’s McGuire Lake where poems were posted on trees for contemplation. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
Following the walk around McGuire Lake on June 25, many people attending the vigil wrote messages and thoughts on little flags which were hung beside the lake. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
