Calgary woman wearing hijab faces verbal attack at restaurant
By Yolande Cole, Postmedia Network
First posted: Monday, August 22, 2016 04:23 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, August 22, 2016 07:23 PM EDT
Lubna Akl and her family were heading out for burgers last week when the 30-year-old Calgary woman found herself the target of a verbal attack over her head scarf.
Akl was in a car with her three young children at Peter’s Drive-In last Thursday, following two cars of family members as they waited for their turn to order.
Soon after Akl pulled into the first lane, out of sight of her parents, grandmother and sisters in the far lane, she heard music blaring so loud she couldn’t place her order.
She turned to see a woman in a white truck waving her middle fingers at Akl and swearing.
“Her middle fingers were directed at me and she was saying go back to your f------ country, you f------ c---,” Akl recounted Monday.
Akl tried to ignore her and place her order, but said the woman “kept getting worse.”
She then pretended to take a photo of the woman with her phone, thinking it might make her back off.
The confrontation escalated, with the woman coming over to Akl’s vehicle and pressing her middle fingers against the closed window.
“My kids were starting to cry, so I didn’t want to make it worse in front of them,” she said.
“I thought maybe if I approach it nicely … then maybe she’ll try to explain herself or be a little bit nicer.”
Akl got out of her car and asked the woman, “do you have a problem with me?”
“And then she came so close to my face, like we had a really bad confrontation at that moment and she said ‘I want you to take off your jabib (hijab) and go back to your country and you don’t belong here, Canada isn’t your country.’”
During the confrontation, Akl said she kept hoping someone would intervene.
“But not a single person to just say something,” she said.
Akl got back in her car, where her children were crying.
“My daughter’s saying, ‘Mama, why are people taking pictures of you?’ And then she started pointing at all the cars that were taking pictures,” said Akl.
Akl called the police, who attended and spoke to both parties.
A spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service confirmed that officers responded to a call about a verbal altercation, but said there was no criminal offence such as threats of violence.
Since sharing her experience in a public post on her sister’s Facebook account, Akl said she has received an outpouring of support from friends, family and people who saw her story who are vowing to “stand up to bullying” if they witness any similar interactions.
ycole@postmedia.com
Calgary woman wearing hijab faces verbal attack at restaurant | Canada | News |
By Yolande Cole, Postmedia Network
First posted: Monday, August 22, 2016 04:23 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, August 22, 2016 07:23 PM EDT
Lubna Akl and her family were heading out for burgers last week when the 30-year-old Calgary woman found herself the target of a verbal attack over her head scarf.
Akl was in a car with her three young children at Peter’s Drive-In last Thursday, following two cars of family members as they waited for their turn to order.
Soon after Akl pulled into the first lane, out of sight of her parents, grandmother and sisters in the far lane, she heard music blaring so loud she couldn’t place her order.
She turned to see a woman in a white truck waving her middle fingers at Akl and swearing.
“Her middle fingers were directed at me and she was saying go back to your f------ country, you f------ c---,” Akl recounted Monday.
Akl tried to ignore her and place her order, but said the woman “kept getting worse.”
She then pretended to take a photo of the woman with her phone, thinking it might make her back off.
The confrontation escalated, with the woman coming over to Akl’s vehicle and pressing her middle fingers against the closed window.
“My kids were starting to cry, so I didn’t want to make it worse in front of them,” she said.
“I thought maybe if I approach it nicely … then maybe she’ll try to explain herself or be a little bit nicer.”
Akl got out of her car and asked the woman, “do you have a problem with me?”
“And then she came so close to my face, like we had a really bad confrontation at that moment and she said ‘I want you to take off your jabib (hijab) and go back to your country and you don’t belong here, Canada isn’t your country.’”
During the confrontation, Akl said she kept hoping someone would intervene.
“But not a single person to just say something,” she said.
Akl got back in her car, where her children were crying.
“My daughter’s saying, ‘Mama, why are people taking pictures of you?’ And then she started pointing at all the cars that were taking pictures,” said Akl.
Akl called the police, who attended and spoke to both parties.
A spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service confirmed that officers responded to a call about a verbal altercation, but said there was no criminal offence such as threats of violence.
Since sharing her experience in a public post on her sister’s Facebook account, Akl said she has received an outpouring of support from friends, family and people who saw her story who are vowing to “stand up to bullying” if they witness any similar interactions.
ycole@postmedia.com
Calgary woman wearing hijab faces verbal attack at restaurant | Canada | News |