Posted 2 years ago
Canda's "Freedom Convoy" has laid bare a different side of Canada, with an unprecedented demonstration in the country’s capital. And for many local residents caused fear about the countries, active, but often unspoken of far right extremists. The hundreds of truckers and protesters rallying outside Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and demanding an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates have many people in the city afraid.
Justin Romanov, a food delivery driver said: “I do not feel safe in downtown Ottawa right now because I have a feeling if people will learn that I’m a refugee and a gay, I’m afraid of some trouble there and to be honest, I am a little bit disappointed that this protest (is) still happening across Canada."
Meanwhile, copycat convoys have also formed in New Zealand, Australia, France and elsewhere. Meanwhile, organizers online have said a demonstration planned for Monday in Belgium's capital, Brussels, will see convoys merge from countries across Europe. In the US, the Department of Homeland security has warned that they too view similar protests as a real and credible threat. While the demonstration in Ottawa began in opposition to vaccination rules for truckers crossing the border, it quickly became a rallying point against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government and coronavirus regulations across the country.
And while some have gathered peacefully, reports of demonstrators blaring their horns throughout the night, accosting residents wearing masks, committing property damage and theft along with the rare, but still disturbing, presence of Confederate flags and flags bearing swastikas, the demonstration has left many Ottawa residents on edge and afraid to leave their homes.
"They’re targeting anyone who’s wearing a mask, anyone who’s respecting public health policy," a local nursing student said. "I myself have been accosted at least three times."
"I had one man try to rip my mask off. I’ve been screamed at, I’ve been told to go back to my country," she said, after someone heard her speak with an accent.
Since being accosted, she said she has been afraid to leave her home after dark and refuses to go out after dark alone. "It's not safe. It's really very scary," she said.
Topic: World News
Tags: Freedom Convoy Covid-19 Protests Justin Trudeau