Latest news with #Brandonites
Winnipeg Free Press
20-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sword attack at Brandon school racially motivated, police confirm
BRANDON — Police say a gruesome sword attack on a student at Neelin High School was part of a plot by the 16-year-old accused to target people of colour and immigrants. Brandon police Chief Tyler Bates said there is digital and eyewitness evidence that the accused was 'anti-immigration' and specifically targeted people of colour at the school June 10. A 15-year-old Black student was viciously assaulted. 'When you have an offender that is armed, that is walking past Caucasian students and having no intent to harm those students, but actively pursuing students of colour, you know that certainly speaks to a racialized motive,' Bates said Friday. On June 10, Chinonsu Onuke, 15, was rushed to hospital with stab wounds to his chest, forearms, hands and thighs after a fellow student allegedly stabbed him with a sword. Onuke is recovering with his family at home. Bates said it's still early in the investigation, but investigators have found a significant amount of evidence that the teen's 'racial and political ideologies' were motivating factors behind the attack. 'This is disturbing, and no one should ever fear for their safety because of the colour of their skin, and no child should be made to feel unsafe in a place of learning,' Bates said. 'There is no place in our community for racism, hate, or violence of any kind.' The 16-year-old remains in custody; he has been charged with attempted murder, uttering threats, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and disguise with intent. Police gave an update on the investigation one day after Premier Wab Kinew went to Brandon to apologize in person to the victim and his family 'on behalf of the Indigenous people.' Multiple sources at Neelin High School have confirmed the accused is Indigenous. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN FILES Chinonso Onuke is held by close friend Leland Henderson and his twin brother Chiemeka during his first visit back to the school on Friday. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN FILES Chinonso Onuke is held by close friend Leland Henderson and his twin brother Chiemeka during his first visit back to the school on Friday. Police have said the assault was stopped before more people could be hurt. At the time, the school had gone into lockdown. Police arrived in about three minutes and used a stun gun to arrest the teen. Bates said he understands the community's concern and thanked people for their support. He said BPS is working diligently and making sure no detail is overlooked in the investigation. 'The mortal danger encountered at Neelin High School has affected us all, but has united Brandonites in resilience, kindness and opposition to racism and hatred,' he said. Bates said it's clear there is work to be done to ensure students' safety at school, and BPS will continue to work alongside partners in education, mental health and community organizations to keep schools safe and inclusive. In an interview with the Brandon Sun, Bates said no hate-related charges have been laid against the accused, and if the Crown attorneys decided to add them, it could take months. MATT GOERZEN / THE BRANDON SUN FILES Neelin High School Grade 10 student Chinonso Onuke, right, and his twin brother Chiemeka Onuke watch Premier Wab Kinew handle a Premier's Challenge Coin during a visit to the Onuke family home near Sprucewoods on Thursday. MATT GOERZEN / THE BRANDON SUN FILES Neelin High School Grade 10 student Chinonso Onuke, right, and his twin brother Chiemeka Onuke watch Premier Wab Kinew handle a Premier's Challenge Coin during a visit to the Onuke family home near Sprucewoods on Thursday. Bates said the accused is a 'youth in crisis' and needs help and support to get him into a healthy state of mind. 'There were many that were at risk that day just by virtue of their complexion, and that's a sad statement for that to have transpired in the city of Brandon and one that I think is a sobering reality that we have to be mindful of,' Bates said. In an email sent to parents, the Brandon School Division said it is 'profoundly troubled' by the finding that the attack was racially and politically motivated. 'The intentional targeting of individuals based on race is abhorrent and fundamentally contradicts the values, vision and mission of the division,' the email said. 'The severity and intent of this act will inevitably affect the overall sense of security within our community.' The division said that community and support resources, including school social workers and psychologists, will continue to be provided for students and staff, as well as additional crisis supports from Prairie Mountain Health. — Brandon Sun
CBC
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Palestinian pavilion joins Westman Cultural Festival in Brandon for 1st time
Social Sharing Aida Harrison is opening the doors of her Brandon, Man., business to host a Palestinian cultural pavilion at this year's Westman Multicultural Festival — a first for the festival — as a call for peace in her home country. The devastating war in Gaza compelled Harrison to showcase Palestinian culture in Brandon, a city she's called home for the last 25 years. Harrison, who was born in Bethlehem, says it's heartbreaking seeing her fellow Palestinians killed, and their homes destroyed, in the ongoing conflict. "The whole world is watching without saying anything.... Everybody has the right to live in their country in free[dom] and dignity. And we don't have the dignity in Palestine," Harrison said. "I want to live in peace." She wants the pavilion — located at the Backyard on Aberdeen event space — to be a place of education that helps Brandonites feel more connected to her people and culture. Officially called the Palestine Pavilion, it's one of 11 pavilions featuring around 20 different countries at this weekend's Westman Multicultural Festival — a mainstay in the city each February that gives Brandonites a chance to see how different cultures weave together, says Gautam Srivastava, the general manager for the Indian pavilion and festival's secretary. "We may or may not get along globally, we may or may not share the same political views, religious views, but we can all work together to bring a greater good to our community," Srivastava said. "We are all people, and through any conflicts or through any political differences, through any religious differences, we're humans trying to live together." Srivastava says it's exciting to see new pavilions helping build the event up again after the COVID-19 lockdowns. Last year's festival, the first since 2020, had six pavilions. New pavilions for this year's festival, which began Thursday and runs until Saturday, also include Nigerian and Colombian pavilions, and one from the Hispanic Association of Manitoba, he said. Emmanuel Akobi, the lead co-ordinator for the Nigeria pavilion at the festival, said the new pavilion — located at the Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans In Canada Unit No. 10 building — reflects the growing Nigerian culture in Manitoba. In 2021 according to census data, 465 people in Brandon indicated Nigerian as their ethnic or cultural origin — up from 155 in 2016. Akobi is looking forward to sharing the culture of his country with his new home in Brandon at a festival that brings the community together, he said. "Everybody just wants to be happy with each other. That's just what you experience," he said. An opportunity for discussion Harrison says when she first moved to Brandon 25 years ago, she was one of a handful of newcomers in the city. It was lonely at first, and she cried for six months because of how much she missed her home country, she said. But the city, which now has a population of over 54,000, has changed over the years, and she said she's been amazed to see the celebration of different cultures in Brandon. According to the 2021 Canadian census, just over 18 per cent of Brandonites are immigrants. Harrison says around 15 volunteers are helping with the pavilion — but she also has staff prepping food and is paying for Palestinians from Winnipeg to be a part of the pavilion. The Palestinian festivities will include poems, food, a fashion show and other activities to showcase her homeland. She'll also have a video from the Middle East featuring Palestinian dance, music and culture. Harrison says she's already having conversations about why she's hosting the festival's first Palestinian pavilion, and views those discussions as opportunities to talk about the loss Palestinians have faced. Gaza has been largely demolished by Israel's military following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. That assault killed 1,200 people, with around 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war in the Gaza Strip. But in a January study published in medical journal The Lancet, researchers found that for the period between Oct. 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the number of dead in Gaza was estimated to be 41 per cent higher than what the ministry was reporting. Harrison said she's even more worried about the future for Palestinians after President Donald Trump's comments suggesting the U.S. should take over the Gaza Strip. That threat binds Palestinians and Canadians together, Harrison said, because Trump has also mused about making Canada a 51st state. Harrison said she wants to show that Palestinians and Israelis can co-exist peacefully, even if their governments are at war. But something needs to change, she said. "I love to stay and live in peace and Brandon, and as exactly the people of Palestine when they stay in their own country and live in peace," Harrison said. "That's my hope, my dream. And if they want to leave all of us together, I'm open to living together — but in peace and equality. Less than that, I refuse."
