I am the father of three young children who live in Northern Bruce Peninsula. We are Chinese Canadian; three of my kids were born in Canada.
On April 4th at around noon, my 15-year old daughter and her two younger siblings were walking between George street and Frank street (in Wiarton) when a lady shouted at us to “go back to where you belong.” She was riding her bike followed by two kids. Then she turned around the corner to yell “go home to eat your weird food, go eat your chicken…” followed by offensive chicken noises until she was too far to be heard.
My kids felt scared and full of fear when they described the incident to me, at that time my 15-year old daughter was with her 11-year old sister and 8-year old brother.
I am shocked and upset by what has happened to my family. For years we were living in different small towns and large cities across Canada, sometimes we heard such stories of racism, but never did we think it was so close and could happen to us.
I am writing to you to bring this to your attention. However while I am worried about the safety of my family, I hope we can get through the pandemic together. Being racist towards one another does not help anyone. So instead of spreading hate, let us help each other through these hard times and keep our families safe. This incident has already been reported to OPP and it is currently under investigation. If anyone has information regarding this case, please do not hesitate to contact the police immediately.
Tommy Yin,
Pike Bay, ON
