Back to the great mosque: to rebuild his life elsewhere, the choice of Said
The 44 -year -old big fellow, his wife and four children put their penates in London, Ontario.It was at the start of 2020.Said has resumed work.Not as a taxi driver, but in the truck industry.
Of course, everything is not yet perfect.For example, Said asked that we do not use his last name and that we do not broadcast photos of him. Son épouse et leurs quatre enfants veulent plus d’intimité
, explique-t-il.
Even if his health is good, Said still has some trouble linked to the two bullets he received in the abdomen and the knee during the attack.He ended a two -month convalescence, after an operation to withdraw hernias which he developed due to his ventral scar.
Another attack
Then there is London, his adopted city.This same place where, last June, a Muslim family was broke in an attack on the lamps-in-law. Un événement choquant
, qui pousse à réfléchir
et qui réveille des traumatismes
, admet Saïd.
Citizens of London gather in front of the place where five people from the same family were struck by a driver on June 7, 2021.
Photo: Reuters / Carlos Osorio
However, he confides having experienced this drama as any other Canadian, or roughly. Ça ne change rien au niveau de notre décision de déménager
, assure-t-il.
Why then have Quebec fled?Because he no longer felt safe there, among others, but especially because the social climate in Quebec in general was simply no longer tolerable for him.
To cure a disease, you have to talk about it openly
Said knows that his words may offend people in Quebec. Or, pour guérir une maladie, il faut en parler ouvertement
, dit-il. Contrairement au Québec, l’Ontario n’est pas malade des musulmans
, selon lui.
When you open the news, we do not speak every hour about Muslims problems.We do not have columnists as we have in Quebec who have no other job than to monitor Muslims and write chronicles in their lifestyle.
It must be said that Said arrived in Quebec in the early 2000s.He lived the time of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, the Parti Québécois values charter, then the adoption of Bill 21 of the Coalition Avenir Québec.
I have always said [...] "If the state does not mix with that and the state does not make racism something institutional, legislated, we fear nothing".
However, in recent years, he started to fear.
In Ontario, he feels that he can vote freely in the elections, according to his values rather than as a function of his religious affiliation.This was not the case in Quebec, he believes.
Where are you from?
Saïd admet aussi qu’il n’en pouvait plus, entre autres, de se faire demander dans son taxi D’où venez-vous
, alors qu’il avait quitté le Maroc presque 20 ans auparavant.
Even if this is a sign of curiosity in some people, it is also sometimes the first question used by Islamophobic individuals to then make derogatory remarks, he says.
Said was a taxi driver in Quebec.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Daniel COULOMBE
En Ontario, c’est le jour et la nuit
, poursuit Saïd.Admittedly, there is racism and Islamophobia there too, he says, but the population is more diverse, which changes the dynamics in everyday life.
There is no one who is going to ask you you come from where, because if they start to ask people they come from where, they will turn crazy!
On the right track
The case of Said remains the exception to the rule.The vast majority of survivors of the Great Mosque attack in Quebec and their families still live in the capital.Several will take part in the commemorations which will take place on Saturday.
Five years after the drama, observers perceive that things have improved.
This is particularly the case of Captain Jean-FrançoisVezina, who is very involved in the file of equity, diversity and inclusion to the police service of Quebec City (SPVQ). Je pense qu’on est sur la bonne voie
, dit-il.
Captain Jean-FrançoisVezina of the SPVQ, during training on hate crimes.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Alexandre Duval
CaptainVezina recalls that shortly after the January 29, 2017 attack, the SPVQ police received training concerning incidents and hate crimes.Soon, investigators will receive update training.
En 2019, le SPVQ a aussi créé les Agents de liaison interculturelle et de rapprochement (ALIER), un projet qui regroupe des policiers intéressés par les questions de diversité et qui désirent s’impliquer dans un cadre plutôt informel
, résume M.Vezina.
Ce qu’on voulait, c'est les faire participer à des activités, les mettre dans des contextes de rencontre avec la diversité
, explique-t-il.
Several members of the Alier project have thus taken part in events, including a supper-benefit in the project of the enlargement of the Great Mosque of Quebec. La pandémie a freiné cet élan
, selon le capitaineVezina, mais ce n’est que temporaire.
Shared responsibility
Le capitaineVezina estime aussi que les discours à caractère haineux qui prenaient beaucoup de place dans l’espace public à Québec, il y a quelques années, paraissent aujourd’hui en perte de vitesse.
There seems to be a lull, honestly.We hear much less the leaders of the far -right groups take the floor.
N’empêche que le capitaineVezina est conscient que des incidents et des crimes à caractère haineux continuent de se produire sur le territoire du SPVQ. Si la police a une grande responsabilité
face à ces événements, toute la société civile doit mettre l’épaule à la roue, selon lui.
From experience, in all cases of criminal or otherwise, when arrested as police organization and there is a witness, citizens who have seen and denounced [...] The success of our interventions is really increased tenfold.
Return to Quebec?
Even if he is no longer a resident of Quebec, Saïd only wants the best for the city that welcomed him over 20 years ago.
Quebec is a beautiful city.We talked about bad sides, but I might also talk about good sides. Quebec is a beautiful city. Il y a du bon monde là-dedans
, note-t-il.
Château Frontenac, emblematic building in Quebec
Photo: Radio-Canada / Olivia Laperrière-Roy
The choice of Said to leave for Ontario was carefully thought out.However, at the very end of the interview, he himself evokes what some could consider as a sign of a link that will never be completely broken.
I do not look back now, but if things are improving, I have a stepfamil that is still in Quebec.You never close the door when they return to Quebec.
