Three international students at the University of Regina are angry after being insulted and threatened during a racist incident. Police are investigating the incident.
Moshiur Samid, 22, moved to Canada from Bangladesh in 2022 in order to study physics. On December 23, around 1 a.m., he and two friends were returning from a convenience store on Victoria Avenue.
He claims a car with four men approached them to ask if they had drugs, before asking them if they wanted to buy some. When they refused, the occupants began shouting racist insults and threats at them.
They called us fucking Indians
says Moshiur Samid. The four men told the students to leave their country
and asked them Which Tim Hortons do you work at?
continues Mr. Samid.
One of the men then said I’m going to shoot you
adds the student, who claims that the car left and returned four times. Once, one of the passengers threw a full cup of cold coffee at him.
Moshiur Samid explains that he and his friends kept walking to get out of the situation. He says Canadians have become less welcoming in recent months, online and in person.
The student says he is willing to ignore the hateful comments online, but felt the need to speak out about this incident because he wants to prevent another newcomer from being in this situation.
Another alleged victim, Shariar Sabith, is also a 22-year-old physics student at the University of Regina. This incident shook him deeply.
Every day I talk with my parents, but [après l’incident] I went two days without speaking with them. Sometimes I want to cry, sometimes I don’t want to do anything. I don’t know what to do
he said.
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Shariar Sabith is a 22-year-old physics student at the University of Regina.
Photo: Shariar Sabith
They said they were going to shoot us […] We didn’t do anything wrong, so why tell us that?
He noted the car’s license plate. The three friends filed a police report once they returned home and officers came to question them. The Regina Police Service confirms they are investigating the incident.
Professor of Global Development Studies at Queens University in Ontario, Reena Kukreja, studies hate speech and its impact on South Asian men in Canada.
She claims there is an increase in hate incidents targeting migrants racialized
in Canada, for example, in the case of delivery people. Especially when delivering food, having the door slammed in their face is very common, and increasingly [commun]
says the professor.
She notes that anti-immigrant rhetoric is enhanced
by political executives in Canada and that Internet users frequently identify immigrants as the source of problems in Canada.
Whether it’s the housing crisis, healthcare or unemployment, everything is placed on migrants’ doorsteps
declares Reena Kukreja.
She believes the student experience at Regina is symptomatic of a more serious crisis
who risks taking more tragic turns
. She wants the authorities to react quickly. Do we have to wait for another shooting like the Quebec mosque or for people to be crushed?
she asks herself.
With information from Aishwarya Dudha
