PUSH BACK THE DARKNESS
Thank you very much for your interest in contributing a story!
On January 29th, 2019, there will be a commemoration of the Quebec City mosque attack in the House of Commons and the Senate on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. As part of this commemoration, we are seeking drawings, stories, and photographs from community members in order to send those to Ottawa as part of the commemoration.
In order to participate in this, we would like you to create either a story or a drawing (or both) which can be sent to Members of Parliament and Senators in Ottawa, and if you feel comfortable, include a picture of you and your family to go along with this. Photographs are not a requirement of submission. We can also make your contribution anonymous if you prefer. If you find yourself becoming upset when writing your story, please reach out to a counsellor.
The theme of these stories and drawings is hope and optimism for the future, with the idea being that we can work together as a community to push back against the darkness of fear, ignorance, and hate using the light of friendship, knowledge, and kindness. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
Only love can do that.
When writing a story, you could include responses to these questions (though you may also want to focus on other questions):
- Where were you when the Quebec City mosque attack happened?
- What did you do after you heard about it (or about another such incident in which a particular group was targeted for violence on racial or religious grounds)?
- Do you feel that the Quebec mosque shooting has affected your identity as a Canadian in any way? What are some specific moments you can think of? Successes or challenges?
- How has it affected your relationship with your neighbours, school mates, work colleagues, people on the streets?
- How did it make you feel?
- What did your community do in response?
- What do you think your community should have done in response?
- What would you like to know about the Quebec City mosque attack?
- What message would you like to send Members of Parliament or Senators about what would you like to see in the future, both for you and for any children you may have?
An example story which is based on these guidelines, created by the founder of this initiative (Ryan Slobojan),
can be found here, if you are seeking inspiration and would like an idea what these suggestions can mean in practice.
We would like you to include your contact information with any stories or drawings you submit, if you feel comfortable doing that - this will give the Member of Parliament or Senator who receives your story or drawing a chance to get in touch with you to learn more, if they choose. However, this is not required, and you can choose to submit with as much or as little contact information as you wish.
Similarly, we would like to publish these stories and pictures on this website on the date of the commemoration, so that Canadians across the country can also see and hear from you - however, this is also not required, and if you do not wish to have your story or drawing made public then we will not do so. Also, any public stories or drawings will have contact information removed (only names and cities will be displayed).
Thank you for reading this, and we look forward to hearing from you.
