COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Fear over the city

Arthur J Pais

A spate of gangland shootings and political murders in Vancouver -- involving mostly the Asian community -- has been raising fears that Vancouver's streets are dangerous, though city councilors and officials say that the city cannot judge by the events in last three years..

But when a major charity, Kinsmen's Mothers March, decided in January not to send its volunteers to homes to collect donations, there was no denying that crime reports had scared many people.

"There is no question that we are living in a more frightened community," regardless of whether the fear is fully valid, said Bruce Strongitharm, a long-time community activist and president of the Kinsmen Rehabilitation Foundation, which organizes the Mothers March.

There have been many incidents in recent months of attack on Asians by a hooded man who robs the residents near their garages.

Gang warfare, involving mostly Asians, and the bloodshed at the gurdwaras have given the community a bad name, many Indian-Canadians say.

Yet Vancouver councilors hastened to dispel perceptions that the West Coast city has turned violence-prone, citing statistics showing that murders and other violent crime have declined in the past 12 months from last year's level. The city sees about 28 murders a year.

What frightens many people is the violence touches many bystanders. For example, Glen Olson, 29, was killed in a case of mistaken identity; the intended victim was Bindy Johal.

Professor Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University, agrees that the character of the crime has changed to include apparently random gang-related shootings, and the phrase used by the media "innocent bystanders are killed" . . . is worrisome to people.

Vancouver police spokesman Anne Drennan told local media that the cancellation of the Kinsmen charity drive was regrettable. "[It's] a sad state of affairs when we have to put out the warning" that residents should not open their doors to strangers, she said.

RELATED REPORT:
A fatal roll-call

Tell us what you think of this report