Toronto air show is too traumatic for newcomers who escaped war
Welcoming refugees into our communities implies a responsibility to provide a safe environment for rehabilitation and integration. Yet next week, thousands of our neighbours will be exposed to trauma in a spectacle most of us would do away with in the first place.
For most Torontonians the Canadian International Air Show is, at best, a nuisance. I have yet to encounter a neighbour with an even remotely positive opinion of warplanes making low altitude passes for days on end.
The organizers realize this. According to their website, “Like all . . . events such as auto races, walks, marathons, bicycle rides for charity (the air show) may be seen as disruptive by some while being anticipated and enjoyed by others. We understand that the noise generated . . . may be a concern.”
The air show is nothing like a charity bike ride. In a city with a large population of refugee newcomers and people who have experienced the trauma of war, it is insulting, invasive and violent.
Last week, the world was presented with yet another heartbreaking image from Syria: 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh, sitting bloodied, covered in dust and shellshocked after being rescued from the wreckage of an airstrike. Witnessing his trauma is made all the more painful by our inability to help.
We can’t stop the great power game of the Syrian Civil War. We can’t rescue all the children suffering the horrors of aerial bombardment. We have, however, proudly and publicly resettled thousands of Syrians.
About 10,000 refugees from around the world arrive in Toronto every year. In 2017, the total will be close to 20,000 given the increased quota for Syrians. The federal government recently announced a significantly larger proportion of refugee newcomers.
I work with a new initiative called The Together Project. One of our goals is to help build social networks between refugee newcomers and Canadians. Our first public event was a large picnic in Dufferin Grove Park. There I met a father from Homs (an utterly decimated city) who told me how it had taken his family several months to enjoy sunny days and open spaces. In Homs, cloud cover meant less risk of high-altitude bombardment. A colleague recounted a story of a family resettled from Lebanon who sedated their toddler before leaving for the airport because the mere sight of a plane made her hysterical.
Integration is a dynamic process whereby newcomers and societies learn, adapt and grow together. Host societies aren’t expected to fundamentally change to serve a minority group.
But in Toronto, people affected by war are not an insignificant minority. This includes newcomers who aren’t refugees, Canadians and family members struggling with intergenerational trauma.
We accept the importance of trigger warnings to .help fellow citizens avoid potential harm. For example, signs reading “Combat Veteran Lives Here: Please be Courteous with Fireworks” made the rounds on social media in the lead up to the Fourth of July.
Who is the air show for? Apparently, the organizers “understand that some people may find some of the aircraft loud” but ask them “to consider the benefits of the Canadian International Air Show to its fans.”
Considering the undefined “benefits” accrued to “fans” as somehow comparable to the potential harm to members of our communities is simply indecent.
In the besieged city of Aleppo, groups of children have formed “air-defence brigades.” Their method: burning piles of tires to obstruct bombers. Take a moment to let that sink in as a childhood experience. Now imagine these kids’ reaction to the Snowbirds (“Canada’s National Pride in the Skies”) making passes over their new homes. I am sickened by the notion that children with acute PTSD will face three days of harassment in their place of refuge.
The Liberal government has done an outstanding job of capitalizing on Canadians’ sense of moral purpose.
There is palpable relief that we can get back to our image of an open society playing a constructive international role.
Yet we suffer from a deep dissonance. We congratulate ourselves for our humanitarianism and tacitly condone selling weapons to authoritarian regimes that target civilians, represses civil society, imprison people for sexual orientation and execute political prisoners.
Glorification of the tools of war is antiquated, regressive and morally repugnant. It’s something we deride in other countries and is contrary to everything good about Toronto.
Glorification of the tools of war is antiquated, regressive and morally repugnant.