E20 — Nur Al Ebeid

City and Nuuchimii

Has anything changed since the June 6 2021 terror attack that saw the Afzaal family brutally murdered in London, Ontario? Are Canadian streets any safer today, one year on, for the visibly Muslim?

Future lawyer and proud Marsh Iraqi Nur Al Ebeid joins us today to discuss. Nur is working toward her dual degree juris doctor from uOttawa and masters in international affairs from Carleton University.
The daughter of refugees, Nur was born in London, ON — a small southwestern Ontario city near the U.S. border. Southern Iraq's marshlands, also known as the Mesopotamian marshes, are still considered by some to be the cradle of civilization. Nur's family were forced out of this region when Sadam Hussein drained these marshes in the 1990s, wiping out thousands of homes and countless wildlife. The original Garden of Eden was once found in this sacred region. Today these once lush, vast marshes are mostly desert.

In this episode, we hear from Nur about her ancestors' way of life in الاهوار بلاد ما بين النهرين. We also discuss nationhood, belonging, #OurLondonFamily, Islamophobia, the fallout from bills 21 and 96 in Quebec, and the hate that too often spans generations in this country.
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Sources and further reading:

• Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia (YCCI Canada) short film: To Yumnah, With Love
  
• Canadian political leaders vow to combat Islamophobia in vigil held for Muslim family killed (via Global News)
  
• National Council of Canadian Muslims on the Our London Family Act
  
• Feds seek special advisor to combat Islamophobia in Canada (via CTV News)
  
• Francophone Quebecers increasingly believe anglophone Canadians look down on them (via Policy Options)
  
• I was asked to apologize for my question in the leaders’ debate. I stand by it unequivocally (op-ed by Shachi Kurl for G&M)
  
• المغني الأخير: One man’s fight to maintain a dying tradition in the ancient marshlands of Iraq (via Nowness)

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City and Nuuchimii is independently produced and co-hosted by Maïtée Saganash and Jenn Jefferys. Reach us at [e-mail] or @citynuuchimii. Click here to subscribe now.