CANADA
Afghan community rallies to protest violence against ethnic minoritySafiyah Marhnouj - cbc.ca- TODAY
Carrying signs saying 'Stop Hazara Genocide' and 'Let us live,' more than a hundred protesters gathered on Parliament Hill Saturday to demand action after several attacks on the ethnic Hazara minority group in Afghanistan.
The protest was organized after a recent suicide bombing at a Shia educational centre in a Hazara neighbourhood in the capital city of Kabul on Sept. 30.
The United Nations said at least 100 people were wounded and more than 50 people, mostly teenage girls, were killed.
The Hazara people are an ethnic minority group in Afghanistan who are predominantly Shia Muslims. They have been a frequent target of violence in the region.
"We want to raise our voice to make people aware that a crime is going on in Afghanistan," said Ahmad Seyar Lalee, one of the organizers of Saturday's protest.
Lalee said similar protests are also taking place in the United States, the United Kingdom and across Canada in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
The protests are also a way to urge officials with the Canadian government to recognize a "Hazara genocide," Lalee said, and take preventative steps.
"We are asking them, as Afghan-Canadian citizens, to stand with us and stand for justice in Afghanistan and support us," he said.
"We have to stand for equality, for human rights, for women's rights and child's rights," he said.
Ahmad Seyar Lalee, left, attended the protest with his wife. He said he hopes the protest opens people's eyes to the violence Hazara people face in Afghanistan.
© Safiyah Marhnouj/CBC
'It's unacceptable'
Goli Akbari, a member of the Hazara community, said she was heartbroken to hear of the suicide bombing.
"It's so hard as a mother to see somebody's young kids go to school and get killed. It's unacceptable," she said.
Akbari said she's proud to be both Afghan-Canadian and Hazara. By attending the protest, she hoped to spread awareness about the situation in Afghanistan and what her community is fighting for.
"Please stop this," she urged. "Stop killing our future generation."
Azada Azad, a member of the University of Ottawa's Afghan Students Association, also spoke at the demonstration.
"There isn't anything we can do other than speak up, other than try," she told CBC.
Azada Azad, centre, stands with members of the University of Ottawa's Afghan Students Association. Azad said it's important to use her voice and speak out as so many women in Afghanistan cannot.© Safiyah Marhnouj/CBC
Azad grew up in Afghanistan and, as a member of the Hazara community, said she's familiar with the type of discrimination her people can face.
Supporting protests like these are more important than ever, she said, especially since many people in Afghanistan, namely women, are unable to speak out at all.
"It's important for the Afghans in general who are outside of the country to speak up for these women and to make the rest of the world understand the pain they're going through," she said.
"It might feel like it is pointless at the time, but when you are constantly trying to speak up, somewhere along the line someone will listen."
'It's unacceptable'
Goli Akbari, a member of the Hazara community, said she was heartbroken to hear of the suicide bombing.
"It's so hard as a mother to see somebody's young kids go to school and get killed. It's unacceptable," she said.
Akbari said she's proud to be both Afghan-Canadian and Hazara. By attending the protest, she hoped to spread awareness about the situation in Afghanistan and what her community is fighting for.
"Please stop this," she urged. "Stop killing our future generation."
Azada Azad, a member of the University of Ottawa's Afghan Students Association, also spoke at the demonstration.
"There isn't anything we can do other than speak up, other than try," she told CBC.
Azada Azad, centre, stands with members of the University of Ottawa's Afghan Students Association. Azad said it's important to use her voice and speak out as so many women in Afghanistan cannot.© Safiyah Marhnouj/CBC
Azad grew up in Afghanistan and, as a member of the Hazara community, said she's familiar with the type of discrimination her people can face.
Supporting protests like these are more important than ever, she said, especially since many people in Afghanistan, namely women, are unable to speak out at all.
"It's important for the Afghans in general who are outside of the country to speak up for these women and to make the rest of the world understand the pain they're going through," she said.
"It might feel like it is pointless at the time, but when you are constantly trying to speak up, somewhere along the line someone will listen."
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